I was really surprised that last week Obama proposed gutting college savings 529 accounts, presumably because the majority of the benefits of tax-free growth go to the wealthy (since they are the ones who can afford to put money into these types of accounts, and have the most to save on taxes as they are in higher tax brackets). He presented this as a way to shift more tax burden to the wealthy. But by that same reasoning we should also abolish IRAs (especially Roths) and 401k plans, because those who make more money are better able to take full advantage of them. Think of the uproaor if he had proposd that! Anyways, thankfully the Dems in Congress pushed back, hard, and so now it's dropped after just one week. Clearly this was not well thought out.

I was really surprised that last week Obama proposed gutting college savings 529 accounts, presumably because the majority of the benefuts of tax-free growth go to the wealthy (since they are the ones who can afford to put money into these types of accounts, and have the most to save on taxes as they are in higher tax brackets).
His 1st false assumption is that only the rich use these accounts. He of course is dead wrong. The "middle class " use them . The rich can fund college educations without this program.
What you have to understand is that the emperor wants the people dependent on the benevolent government . That is why he would tax someone who tries to save on their own for college ;and turns around and proposes " free" college instead. The "free " part gets paid for by the elimination of the benefits received from the 529's .

If you have a dollar the "Bummer" always has you on his mind.

I would be happy with closing the 529 loophole of the 1%, for free two years of community college, but we can't even do that for bridges and roads.

Would you close it for the 50% as well?

and so now it's dropped after just one week.
He got some opposition from both sides:
Obama’s About-Face on 529 Plans Could Save the Middle Class a Bundle | The Fiscal Times (http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/2015/01/29/Obama-s-About-Face-529-Plans-Could-Save-Middle-Class-Bundle)

dropped by the administration in the face of vehement opposition from Republicans and Democrats alike, as well as state treasurers, financial firms, educational institutions and families.
Agreed that it wasn't well planned to have so much opposition.

Would you close it for the 50% as well?
Naw just the top 1%. Seems congress could have agreed on a number between 0 and 100% anyway. Free two years of college and some roads and bridges. Naw, easier to be outraged and do NOTHING!

at least stop using the misnomer "free " . Call it "subsidized " as someone actually has to pay for it .

I will when you stop referring to the FREE market, the greatest wealth extraction tool ever invented.

Score one for Tal LOL!

in your case the word free means : without cost or payment.

in my case the word free means :made, done, or given voluntarily

in my case the word free means :made, done, or given voluntarilyNone apply in the current implementation of "free market".

in my case the word free means :made, done, or given voluntarily

Yeah a GIFT to the rich from the sweat of the working poor. I ain't so sure about the voluntary, considering how stingy the trickle has been lately.

The current implementation of the free market is not relevent since it is so regulated it can't possible be free.

Yeah a GIFT to the rich from the sweat of the working poor. I ain't so sure about the voluntary, considering how stingy the trickle has been lately.
It's buyers and sellers allowed to transact freely based on a mutual agreement on price without state intervention in the form of taxes, subsidies or regulation.
Don't know where trickle applies . That Will Rogers phrase has something to do with tax policy ...not the free market.

Yep, that's true, but to properly describe it you also have to pair that explanation with restricted economic mobility due to a healthy amount by the corporations that have too much control over the government and markets. And you will never get back to any semblance of a free market, that ship has sailed - you have no leverage whatsoever.

Guess you are stuck on that FREE market huh Tom? Guess a free bridge, or road, or education or REAL free stuff isn't in your vocabulary.

tal no it isn't . Someone pays for the stuff you call free. Maybe the professors should work for "free " too ? Maybe the workers building those bridges and roads should work for "free" too ? Face it ,you mean " subsidized ". You think someone else should pay for the things you benefit from.

Oh I get it now, you mean voluntary slavery! Who gets to hold the whip? Geez Tom, if we all need bridges roads and an education who should pay for it? OOPS, I mean subsidize it.

Never mind, I see why there are no new road and bridges.

I'm still waiting for the second home mortgage interest deduction to go away.
I mean, like, if you want to tax the wealthy and all....
But almost everyone in federal politics has a second home.

2? The new champion of the poor has 6

https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=Mitt+Romney+6+Homes&FORM=RESTAB

https://tse1.mm.bing.net/th?&id=HN.607995484965242997&w=300&h=300&c=0&pid=1.9&rs=0&p=0

This one looks like a small town doesn't it?

http://www.breadandcircusesblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Bon-appetit-Romney-style.jpg

Our new IL governor has at least nine homes (and other stuff, too).

The land of the slaves and the home of the wealthy

That's the path to riches in the US: go into politics, say whatever to get elected, line pockets with "donations" from special interest groups and big corps, then further their interests to keep the gravy train going.

Some think subsidizing the rich is okay, but building roads, bridges, and educating ordinary citizen is out of the question.

Some think buying votes with confiscated wealth is okay, but getting out of debt is ludicrous.

You shouldn't have to buy votes* and paying taxes to support the needs of the country (especially after a recession caused by rich guys boo boo's) is not confiscation, if that's what you allude to, and managing debt (after 10 years and TWO wars) should be a common sense thing.

*They ain't buying votes the rich guys are buying influence of elected officials.

recession caused by rich guys boo boo's
Rich guys = Politicians

The reason the economy crashed and has been slow to rebound is because of government intervention, not the market mechanism | AgainstCronyCapitalism.org (http://www.againstcronycapitalism.org/2015/01/the-reason-the-economy-crashed-and-has-been-slow-to-rebound-is-because-of-government-intervention-not-the-market-mechanism/)

I dispute his premise as the author is clueless, and biased and has no facts just broad assertions.

some have the delusion that if you stick it to the rich then all the issue of the country will be solved . As the emperor proved this week ;the only way to fund utopian fantasies like "free" education is to stick it to the middle income folks . Thankfully his own party rebelled against him this time . But they don't mind screwing the middle income folks in many other way .

Now you make it sound that every road and bridge in the nation is in a state of disrepair .This is just not so . Actually if the funds that were collected for roads and bridges actually went to building and maintaining bridges and roads we'd be in real good shape. Instead ,highway funds goes to things like jogger paths .
Here in NY ,the George Washington Bridge must've been paid for 1000X since it was built . The funds collected in tolls (now up to $15 per crossing for someone who doesn't have EZ Pass and much more money for tandems and other commercial vehicles) is sufficient to make any needed repair and to pave the roadway in solid gold .
But the tolls pay for a whole bunch of BS not associated with the managing and maintanace of the bridge.
Still I have no problem with users fees and even a reasonable level of taxation on gas . The problem is that now that gas prices are going down ;these so called champions of the 98% have no problem proposing an increase in the tax . Why should the people keep their money ? BUT ,when gas prices rose to $4-5 /gal you did not hear a peep from them proposing a reduction in the taxes.
But that is the Dems M.O. They NEVER think that the people are taxed enough .

BTW ;Mittens decided he would not run in 2016 . Doing my Snoopy dance now!! guess you'll have to find someone else to trash.

Sarah Palin explains thought process for possible 2016 bid | On Air Videos | Fox News (http://video.foxnews.com/v/4016382832001/sarah-palin-explains-thought-process-for-possible-2016-bid/?#sp=show-clips)

my choice (subject to changing circumstances ) is Scott Walker .

What does poor old "dead broke", world traveling (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-01-29/hillary-clinton-flew-jets-on-taxpayer-funds-in-senate), white privileged Hillary have?

As it stands I'd vote for Walker, too.

Walker's got the (recent) experience at dealing with hostile lawyers and media. Perry hasn't quite figured it out, it would seem. Christie is BOGO Romney. Jindal is staking out the Religious Right. None of the others really seem to be serious at this point.

It must be said that Palin's self-chosen role as Stalking Horse for the media is courageous as he!!

Walker also hasn't been seduced by the argument made by some establishment GOP that since they lost twice to the emperor that they have to adopt the Dem causes and to concede the Dem's premise .
Scott Walker Isn't Sorry - The Atlantic (http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/01/scott-walker-isnt-sorry/384945/)

He has won 3 races in 4 years ;and his surrogate candidates at the state level are undefeated ;this in a state where Republicans just don't win. He's done it by being virtually uncompromising in his conservative ideas in a very blue state .

It would be nice if the U.S. again got a candidate who had laid his life on the line for his country instead of just his hedge fund.

give it some time . The Vietnam era is a little long in the tooth (best bet from that group would be Dem Jim Webb or maybe Thad Cochran unless you are thinking of retreads like JF Kerry ,John McCain ) . The WWII generation pols did not come of age for the Presidency until 1960 ,15 years after the end of the war. I guess if Jeff Sessions or Lindsey Graham threw their hats in the ring.......... But I'm waiting for someone like Alan West to emerge ;that won't happen this cycle.

btw ....the Obamas gave $240,000 to their daughters’ 529 plans (and designed the tax plan to keep their own 529s growing tax free). He as Senator Obama voted to make 529s permanent in 2006. He praised them in his 2nd autobiography, and used some of the proceeds from the sale of the book to fund his daughters 529s. Now he calls them “ineffective,” “upside down” and “tilted toward the wealthy.”

Another question . The emperor did not make this proposal in a vacuum ,or did he ? Did he not consult any of the Dems on Capitol Hill before he made the proposal ? If he did ,who planned it with him . I'm thinking Elizabeth Warren ,the blond hair blue eyed Cherokee Senator had a say .
I had been expecting the emperor to attempt an assault on 401K's and IRA's . It is no secret that the Dems desire to tax that large dollar pool. Maybe the popular revolt against the emperor's 529 dollar grab will tame those Dem impulses .

Come on Tom nothing tames the impulse to tax, the only question is who to tax, but it seems in some places the dalience with the right doesn't last long, be warned of a fickle electorate

yeah I know . Abbott is taking some heat there over a very stupid act he did . When will he be ousted ? I'm thinking July ?

Not just Abbott, Campell-Newman who swept to power in QLD with an unprecedented majority has just been thrown out, but Abbott is an idiot pursuing unpopular policies without consultation, everything they do has to be compromised until there is little substance left. Austerity doesn't go down well over here, particularly when there is no crisis. I suspect your 'bama suffers in the same way, still the XL will be a test of strength of character and rhetoric. I think we might replace an Abbott with a Bishop or if you like replace a PM with an FM for the second time

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-02-01/lnp-rout-leaves-abbott-terminally-wounded/6060126

Julie Bishop appears to be a good replacement . But I haven't really followed her all that much . She at least understands the war against jihadistan is a long one.

Yes Julie has the reputation of being always the bridesmade, never the bride, she has been deputy to three leaders, a very experienced politician with years under her belt, and she has the benefit of that short chair at the Security Council, so much international respect where it counts, not only that she can put three words together in a sentence. Remember Tom I told you Shorten would become the leader of the Labor Party when he was just standing in the shadows and I think it is time to move the Bishop to Kings Bishop two she is supported by the two Mals at Queens Rook two and Kings Rook and barely a Hockey in sight

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julie_Bishop

The emperor forgot to use his Ticonderoga #2 pencil's eraser on his budget . The 529 proposal is still in his budget request even though we were told he was withdrawing it. The White House says that the the giant volumes that is the budget book had already been published before he decided to scrap it . The book itself may be the biggest $4 Trillion fantasy novel ever written.

Unlike republicans whose plan is to oppose and not propose, as they prepare yet another vote to repeal and REPLACE the ACA, but they have no replace.

Your political system is sooooo broken.

I prefer the word contentious NK. Its always been that way.

Unlike republicans whose plan is to oppose and not propose, as they prepare yet another vote to repeal and REPLACE the ACA, but they have no replace.
They proposed budgets every year and passed them in the House ,only to collect dust on Harry Reid's shelf. Now both chambers will pass a budget . Then the emperor will veto. Who will be the obstructionist then ?

Does it really matter who obstructs when they both take turns doing it?

everyone does it !

yeah that's always the back up argument when you can't exclusively blame Repubicans.

Don't worry Tom, I will have the chance to yet again blast, and blame the repub and that will be sooner, rather than later.

Is this a storm in a tea cup or a tea cup in a storm?

Don't worry Tom, I will
have the chance to yet again blast, and blame the repub and that will be sooner, rather than later.

yeah I see the Dems are resurrecting their claim of a 'Republican war against science'.

If it's a war against bad science then good but it must be applied to more than carbon outcomes

their latest manifestation is due to a measles outbreak ;a disease that had been eradicated . But with the influx of illegal immigration it is making a come back.You see ,back when we had a rational immigration policy ,immigrants were screened for infectious diseases .
So now the Dems have concocted this argument that the science denying Republicans are to blame for it's reemergence .

This Measles outbreak isn't confined to your continent and for the same reasons but it has to be put squarely at the foot of the anti vaccination nutcases who tout bad science and spread the nonsense across the world. Purtusses is another, defeated here until we got migration from the subcontinent, particularly from refugee populations and tuberculois is on the come back road too, and the UN nutcases expect us to take these people and put our own populations at risk

Measles Outbreaks 2015 - Recent Outbreaks and Exposures (http://pediatrics.about.com/od/measles/a/measles-outbreaks.htm)

Yeah blame the Mexicans and Democrats, and remember the good old days. The anti vaxxers cuts across many lines but over simplifying it doesn't solve it, nor does pandering to the MY FREEDOM crowd.

their latest manifestation is due to a measles outbreak ;a disease that had been eradicated . But with the influx of illegal immigration it is making a come back.You see ,back when we had a rational immigration policy ,immigrants were screened for infectious diseases .
So now the Dems have concocted this argument that the science denying Republicans are to blame for it's reemergence .

Measles had NOT been eradicated - there were very few cases, to be sure, but it was not eradicated. But it's so infectious that even if there are only a few cases it's enough to start a big outbreak if there are enough unvaccinated people in he herd. And the dems can't blame the repubs, nor the repubs the dems, because the anti-vaxxers run the gamut from right to left. In general people on the right who are anti-vaxxers feel that way due to distrust of big government, and those on the left are suspicious of big pharma. Its telling that the biggest concentration of the disease is not in poor neighborhoods nor in red states but rather the tonier suburbs in southern CA - maybe a bit of a cliche but the types of folks who tend to be anti-GMO, insist on "organic" and glutten-free foods, and drive Prius's.

I'll quote the NY Slimes for you :

"The vaccination controversy is a twist on an old problem for the Republican Party: how to approach matters that have largely been settled among scientists but are not widely accepted by conservatives."

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/03/us/politics/measles-proves-delicate-issue-to-gop-field.html?_r=1

ebaines . love the reference to the anti-GMO'ers . now there is anti-science at it's best .

It's a fact that human beings tend to embrace "facts" that support their point of view and reject those that don't. That's why liberals are as likely to ignore science as are conservatives. Its called confirmation bias - it's very difficult to convince people who have a particular belief about something to change their mind merely by presenting facts that counter their belief. It is a bias that you see every day, especially on shows with talking heads that air on FOX, CNN and MSNBC.

It's so simple just to ask YOUR doctor what he thinks about vaccinations for YOUR kids.

So Tal is your doctor in favour of vaccinations?

can I keeps my doctor ?

The schools I attended, and my kids after me, didn't allow you to attend without your shots and boosters. THB, Clete, I have never seen a kid in my present doctors office, and have never asked her about it. To note, grandkids have had their shots, and boosters. They too attend schools that MANDATE them as a requirement for attendance. Thought all schools did.

Had flu shots though, does that count?

Yes tal I agree the free market is not free, but an opportunity for those with money to manipulate others