[speechlesstx]

Ok, lemme finish by saying you'll STRENGTHEN the police and support them unequivocally, no matter HOW BRUTAL they are, just like you're doing now. Good for tom

Um, I was interrupted and had not refreshed the page while Smoothy was posting so I made an immediate edit.

P.S. I am a believer in defending my castle but not urinating on others. Besides, I have Molly.

P.P.S. Do you really think I'd support urinating on others? That's disgusting.

[excon]

P.P.S. Do you really think I'd support urinating on others? That's disgusting.

Hello again, Steve:

Nahhh... Smoothy's pissing post, was post my post about your post..

excon

[speechlesstx]

Well I posted about my post about your post about my post, so you should be clear now that I do not support the cops' behavior.

[speechlesstx]

Well, the Super Committee has declared defeat. What's next, another downgrade followed by a Republican sweep?

[tomder55]

It was a phony kick the can down the road Politboro constructed to be a failure.

What a crock . Even the sequestrations when subject to base line budget rules represents at best a reduction in the rate of increased government spending .

No agreement in the committee would've amounted to similar painful budget decisions. Heck ,chicken littles on both sides call the sequestration cuts draconian.

[excon]

Hello again,

Ok, the super committee blew it... Next!

I want to address a question to Steve. We've discussed your mortgage interest deduction, that I, as a renter, don't get... One could, and some do, call it a loophole.

For most people, the bulk of their monthly payment is interest, which is ALL presently deductible. Now, instead of taxing the rich a little bit more, the Republicans want to close "loopholes". Guess what loophole they're talking about.

An average monthly payment of, say, $1,500, even if I'm generous, includes a $1,000 going to interest... That's $12,000 a year that used to be deductible and now won't be. At an average 25% tax rate, that's a net $4,000 tax INCREASE for your average American family...

That might include you, Steve, and certainly your children... Wouldn't you rather they tax the rich a little bit more and leave you the hell alone??

I don't even GET the deduction, and I'm on your side. I think, unless you're on the side of the Republicans, in which case I'm not on your side. I'd be on your side as a homeowner who is paying taxes that SHOULD be paid by richer people than my friend Steve.

excon

[tomder55]

Not sure I'd call it the GOP plan. It is a plan floated by Toomey ;one of the commissars of the politboro Super Committee ,in a spirit of "compromise " .
What you fail to mention was that the idea he floated was in exchange for lower marginal rates . But it would affect that top tier more so it meets the Dems criteria of screwing the rich.

I'm more concerned with them tinkering with the charitable deduction . The Dems and the President have made it no secret that they desire to control the allocation and distribution of all charitable giving in the US ,be it public or private .

Ultimately I'd like to see the end of all deductions and a similar flattening of the tax rates . But not now. The housing market is in too much flux now to add any more uncertainty . Clearly there are many people who purchased their homes based on the deduction as part of the calculation. It would have a negative impact on an already shaky market to suddenly change the rule. But over time , it would be beneficial to eliminate the deduction in return to a lower base rate of taxes ;and there would be a truer sense of the value of the home.

[speechlesstx]

Yeah we discussed it, and I said my house is paid for so I don't get the deduction. Haven't gotten it in years. Getting rid of it would certainly suck for a lot of people who quite frankly, are in homes they couldn't afford to begin with. But I don't see that happening yet for the reasons tom mentioned.

I'm all for beginning with the obvious things, like cutting out the thousands of unnecessary cellphones in the hands of federal workers, buying base Ford Fiestas instead of Volts, pooling purchases, competitive bidding without the union advantages and taking away credit cards, cutting salaries and perks of congress and their staff, etc. Maybe if the bureaucrats feel a little pain they'll get serious about doing something.

[talaniman]

The super committee had to fail, because Grover said so. This ain't about Keynes, or Uncle Miltie, its about GROVER, the real power behind the republicans. He said we were going back to the way it was a hundred years ago, and you better believe he has the power to do it.

You gave it to him when you signed his silly pledge.

[speechlesstx]

Oh come on Tal, this is exactly what Democrats wanted so they could have a campaign theme.

[tomder55]

I'm with the President . Let the sequestered cuts begin... the sooner the better . Let's see who blinks 1st. RINOs like McCain are making a mistake whining about defense cuts that Leon Panetta would've done anyway despite his current phoney rhetoric.

I'll say it again.. a $trillion in a decade is chicken feed . It doesn't even stop the growth of spending .

[talaniman]

Wonder what they are going to do with all those soldiers they will have to lay off? That's right, all those dishwashing jobs are still open, and the south is looking for a few good men to pick crops since the immigrants are disappearing.

[paraclete]

Now tha's mean, Tal, you know the way it goes, the vets get the jobs an someoneelse gets the layoff. That's what the Congress said?

[tomder55]

I'm a big fan of the military . But a blind person could see that their budget is bloated and could easily be trimmed without significant cuts in personel... and if there is cuts in personel then they probably don't need them.

[tomder55]

By the way... late next month will be the next budget battle as Congress "negotiates " a continuing resolution right before the adjourn for the year .

[excon]

I'm a big fan of the military . But a blind person could see that their budget is bloated and could easily be trimmed

Hello again, tom:

Way back in the day, when I was a sailor in the intelligence division aboard ship, I took my turn serving as a mess cook... Now, I didn't cook. I peeled potatoes. The peeled potatoes didn't cost too much because they didn't PAY me too much to peel them... Guess who peels 'em now.

During some cutback in some long past administration, they eliminated ALL the grunt jobs the military did with very low wage workers, and replaced them with very HIGH wage contractors... Yes, the dreaded military contractors... They make, ohhhhh, I don't know, about 20 times what a private makes... Not only do they peel potatoes, they also fight wars, at about 100 times what a soldier or sailor makes..

We've been hearing about them for years... Ain't NOTHING been done about it. That would be NOTHING.

Happy Thanksgiving.

excon

[tomder55]

It is a complete waste of resources to train soldiers and sailors to peel potatoes. They could get away with it in your time because there was a draft .

[talaniman]

Funny you should bring that up Ex, because I found this list,

List of United States defense contractors - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia,

And guess what, it lead to even more lists.

List of NASA contractors - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

No wonder they don't need a draft, they have contractors... outsourcing!!

[tomder55]

Wow a revelation!! The military and NASA hires contractors! And here I thought the government built their own space ships . Guess what... all those roads and bridges you want built... here's a secret... the government contracts that work out too...

[talaniman]

That's a good thing ain't it? Contracting to Americans is a job!

Unlike ATT having a call center in the Philippines, and no doubt many foreign nations get jobs from contracting, and sub contracting and it's a balancing act to get benefit from.What you thought those bridges would get built with just American building materials?? I doubt we would have enough.