Romney 2012?

Also misses the point. It is not that Romney is incredibly rich, its that his policies mostly favor the rich.

What I'm not understanding is that their rhetoric is "we pay less taxes than everybody else, and we want more tax cuts, so you bozos can pay more," and they're winning that fight.

I think the American people have all lost their common sense, and gone crazy!

R&R (Romney and Ryan)

$700 billion from Medicare?

The claim that Obama cut $700 billion out of Medicare is relatively new. Not long ago, the oft-cited number was $500 billion. How did he manage to cut another $200 billion when no one was looking?

First things first: Neither Obama nor his health care law literally cut a dollar amount from the Medicare program’s budget.

Rather, the health care law instituted a number of changes to try to bring down future health care costs in the program. At the time the law was passed, those reductions amounted to $500 billion over the next 10 years.

What kind of spending reductions are we talking about? They were mainly aimed at insurance companies and hospitals, not beneficiaries. The law makes significant reductions to Medicare Advantage, a subset of Medicare plans run by private insurers. Medicare Advantage was started under President George W. Bush, and the idea was that competition among the private insurers would reduce costs. But in recent years the plans have actually cost more than traditional Medicare. So the health care law scales back the payments to private insurers.

Hospitals, too, will be paid less if they have too many re-admissions, or if they fail to meet other new benchmarks for patient care.

Obama and fellow Democrats say the intention is to protect beneficiaries' coverage while forcing health care providers to become more efficient.

Under the new law, the overall Medicare budget is projected to go up for the foreseeable future. The health care law tries to limit that growth, making it less than it would have been without the law, but not reducing its overall budget. So claims that Obama would "cut" Medicare need more explanation to be fully accurate. In the past, we’ve rated similar statements Half True or Mostly False, depending on the wording and context.

Because Medicare spending gets bigger every year, the cost-saving mechanisms in the health care law also get bigger. Also, it takes a few years for the health care law’s savings mechanisms to kick in. In fact, the effects of time are the main reason the $500 billion number has turned into $700 billion.

The CBO determined in 2011 that the federal health care law would reduce Medicare outlays by $507 billion between 2012 and 2021. In a more recent estimate released this year, the CBO looked at the years 2013 to 2022 and determined the health care law affected Medicare outlays by $716 billion.

So it’s timing that’s making the cuts bigger, not changes to Medicare.

Romney, on the other hand, gave away all his inheritance and then made his own fortune

Regardless of the type of IRA you choose, the Federal government imposes annual contribution limits. The chart below shows the maximum dollar amount individuals are allowed to deposit into their IRA each year. After 2010, the contribution limit will raise in increments of $500 depending upon the level of inflation.
Deposits into your IRA do not have to be made at the same time. (For example: In the year 2010, a 35 year old woman could deposit $416.67 into her IRA each month. At the end of the year, it would add up to the maximum $5,000.)

So, reducing the rate of growth is not the same as cuts, is that what you are saying?

That goes against what you and others were saying when Bush once tried to cut the rate of growth on Medicare.

Roth IRA Income Limits for 2012

The IRS tax regulations limit your ability to contribute to a Roth IRA also by using your MAGI. They have three different categories based on your filing status.

If you file your taxes as Married Filing Jointly or a Qualifying Widower in 2012 then your income (specifically, your MAGI) needs to be below $173,000 for you to be able to fully contribute to a Roth IRA. If your MAGI is between $173,000 and $183,000 then you are in the “phase-out” range and the amount you can contribute starts “phasing out”. At $183,000 you are unable to participate in the Roth IRA.

For those who file as Single, Head of Household, or Married Filing Separately (not living with your spouse) in 2012, your MAGI needs to be below $110,000 to fully contribute. Your phase out range is between $110,000 and $125,000.

Finally, for those of you who are filing Married Filing Separately (living with your spouse) in 2012, your MAGI needs to be $0. Your phase out range is between $0 and $10,000.

Historical Roth IRA Income Limits

Every year, the income limits are evaluated against inflation and incomes to determine if a change is needed. In the past five years there has only been one instance where the limit did not change for the two major categories.

Year Married Filing Jointly or Qualifying Widower Married Filing Separately (lived with spouse) Single, Head of Household, or Married Filing Separately
2012 $173,000 - $183,000 $0 - $10,000 $110,000 - $125,000
2011 $169,000 - $179,000 $0 - $10,000 $107,000 - $122,000
2010 $167,000 - $177,000 $0 - $10,000 $105,000 - $120,000
2009 $166,000 - $176,000 $0 - $10,000 $105,000 - $120,000
2008 $159,000 - $169,000 $0 - $10,000 $101,000 - $116,000
2007 $156,000 - $166,000 $0 - $10,000 $99,000 - $114,000
2006 $150,000 - $160,000 $0 - $10,000 $95,000 - $110,000

Selective class warfare.

Obama's personal wealth is much greater than most of the people who will vote for him, but we should not consider him wealthy.

Looking to increase his own taxes?
So you know for a fact that Obama is not taking advantage of every deduction and every loophole he can to reduce his tax burden?