Nerd is my Gender
What's yours?
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The federal government "can cut all of the non-military discretionary spending and not balance the budget."
During a Feb. 14, 2011, interview with Fox Business News, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., told anchor Andrew Napolitano that balancing the budget cannot be done without touching sacrosanct areas such as the military.
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Exactly.
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Tax cuts 21% of debt, war 15% of debt, Medicare 2% of debt… *sings* One of These Things is Not Like the Others
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Who Pays For Unintended Pregnancies?
The cost of unintended pregnancies is large, and much of the bill — about $11 billion per year — is ultimately picked up by the government, a new study finds.
So why does that same government keep attacking family planning services?
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So I bet we all know what the solution is: make the tax cuts permanent! Woohoo!
(via CHART: Without The Bush Tax Cuts, The Debt Would Be At Sustainable Levels)
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Remember when teachers, public employees, Planned Parenthood, NPR and PBS crashed the stock market, wiped out half our 401Ks, took trillions in taxpayer-funded bailouts, spilled oil in the Gulf of Mexico, gave themselves billions in bonuses, and paid no taxes? Yeah, me neither…
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In fact, as Center for American Progress Director of Tax and Budget Policy Michael Linden found, “in the past 60 years, job growth has actually been greater in years when the top income tax rate was much higher than it is now”: if you ranked each year since 1950 by overall job growth, the top five years would all boast marginal tax rates at 70 percent or higher. The top 10 years would share marginal tax rates at 50 percent or higher. The two worst years, on the other hand, were 2008 and 2009, when the top marginal tax rate was 35 percent. In the 13 years that the top marginal tax rate has been at its current level or lower, only one year even cracks the top 20 in overall job creation.
(via CHART: Lower Taxes On The Rich Don’t Lead To Job Growth)
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Half of Americans Getting Government Aid Swear They've Never Used Government Programs
I don’t know of a single person who hasn’t received government aid of some sort. It’s what the government does: aid people. Otherwise, why have one at all?
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Dan: Uh, I’m going to need a couple more weeks on that loan payment…
(Roseanne opens door)
Mike Summers: Hi, I’m Mike Summers, your state representative. How ya doin’?
Roseanne: (unenthusiastically) Great.
Mike: Good, I’m going door-to-door, trying to get to know my constituents.
Roseanne: Oh, door-to-door, huh? That takes a lot of time. Why don’t you just go down to the unemployment office and see everybody at once?
Mike: I hear ya. And you’re right.We can’t let this area’s work-force lay idle. That’s why bringing in new business is my number-one priority.
Roseanne: How?
Mike: Through tax incentives. See, we’re gonna make it cheaper for out-of-state businesses to set up shop right here in Lanford.
Roseanne: So they get a tax break?
Mike: Yeah, that’s why they come here.
Roseanne: Well, who’s gonna pay the taxes that they ain’t paying?
Mike: Well, you… you will. But you’ll be working. Good, steady employment.
Roseanne: Union wages?
Mike: Well, now, part of the reason these companies are finding it so expensive to operate in other locations is—
Roseanne: (cuts him off) Soooo, they’re gonna dump the union, so they can come here and hire us at scab wages, and then for that privilege…we get to pay their taxes?
Mike: Is your husband home?
Roseanne: Well, he’s on the phone tryin’ to keep us from losing our house. Hey…let’s talk about that. See, we’re broke. I can’t even afford to buy groceries unless it’s double-coupon day.
Mike: Mm-hm. You know, we should talk about that. Oh! But, I have several houses I have to get to before I quit go—
Roseanne: (cuts him off, grabs coat) Oh, hey, great! I’ll come with ya. Boy, it’s gettin’ rough out here Mike. It’s getting so my son’s gonna have to wear my daughter’s hand-me-downs; for real this time, not just for fun. -
29 Companies Had More Cash Than The U.S. Treasury As Of July 13
Check out this handy chart:
Bank of America, JPMorgan, Freddie Mac, General Electric… Wait a second, isn’t that the very same General Electric which paid $0 in taxes for 2010?
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Our economy is hungry for food stamps
Food stamps stimulate the economy more than tax cuts!
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Obama’s and Bush’s effects on the deficit in one graph
Cost of new policies:
Bush: $5.07 trillion
Obama: $1.44 trillion
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Prayer Rally Dwarfed By Texans Who Flock To Nearby Convention Center, Desperate For Free School Supplies
Only a few miles down the road from Jones, her governor prayed alongside 30,000 people for all those “who have lost hope.” He did not see fit to mention either the thousands of his constituents lined up for free back-to-school items or the multi-million dollar cuts his budget will inflict upon the Texas education system.
Reminds me of a Bible verse:
“And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.”
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Warren Buffett: "Please, Raise My Taxes"
Buffett argues that Congress protects rich people as if they were “spotted owls,” and that should change if Washington wants to balance the budget and cut into the national debt.
Leave 99.7 percent of Americans alone and raise taxes on those who make more than $1 million and raise them even more for those who make more than $10 million — like him.
Buffett is America’s favorite self-made man. Let the Congressional hypocrisy
begincontinue!Update: That was fast.
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Can we just accept that fact that being poor, and being on public assistance, means you aren’t eating well right now? That the steak-and-lobster-buying food stamp recipient is a straw person? That people on public assistance are not living high on the hog? And that it’s a crying shame that the assistance people get is not enough? You know, call me a communist, but I would love it if people on public assistance could afford to buy the occasional skirt steak, salmon, pork tenderloin or package of dried mushrooms along with their regular food purchases if they wanted to. I think people should be able to feed themselves and their kids consistently throughout the month. I have a problem with the idea that we seem to require poor people to eat gruel and wear rags. If my tax dollars are going to help people, goddammit, I want them to be able to get enough help to eat well. It beats the hell out of what my tax dollars usually go to.
You can just… — Feministe (via lemdi)
It’s kind of sad that wanting people, regardless of their financial situation, to be able to enjoy life in some small way opens yourself up to being called a communist. Not that it is really an insult, it’s just sad that being decent is such an anomaly.
(via liquidiousfleshbag)
Poor people have birthdays too. They may even enjoy lobster on such days. True story.
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This is why we need to put more teachers to work permanently: for the economy and for our future.
I am a teacher. You are able to read, write, do arithmetic and much more because of people like me. Each year, I am expected to take your children further than ever before with fewer materials and resources. I spend thousands out of my own pocket to educate your child. Due to budget cuts, I am also nurse, lunch monitor, counselor, and janitor. I spend long hours after school away from my family, grading papers and planning lessons. I am overworked, underpaid, and I am still told I do not do enough. I am the 99%.”
Genderqueer with a touch of happy humanism.
