Where is the US economy headed?

That's because you have a very bad memory; not my problem, asshole.

Hi Walter, Just got back from Mexico-Cuba today, and was surprised that nobody acknowledged their coming for the Meet. I'm flabbergasted!

I'll post a venue, date, and time by tomorrow eve for the SF Meet, and hope some people will show. Otherwise, I'll be more than happy to show you and Ulla around Northern California. I promise, you guys won't be disappointed!

Trust me; it's not you that's scaring people away, so you can blame me for people not showing up.

I believe that force genuinely is hostile to the corruption of washington.

Most people are hawk but few know what to do about it.

Trust me; it's not you that's scaring people away, so you can blame me for people not showing up.

Anybody showing up to meet ci. has a screw loose.

The truth is that most liberals have no stomach for cutting spending, especially on the Social Security and Medicare programs that dominate the nation's long-term budget problems. There's a legitimate argument over the size and timing of spending cuts. It may well be, as the letter contends, that too many cuts too soon would imperil a "fragile" economic recovery. But the letter doesn't say one word about ever cutting spending; it doesn't mention that huge long-term budget deficits might pose an economic threat (a position held by many economists); it doesn't suggest that Social Security and Medicare benefits might have to be curbed.

For many liberals, the economy's present weakness is just another excuse to avoid facing these issues forever. The Republicans have linked the debt ceiling and changes in government spending, because — without some forcing event — it's impossible to have a negotiation. Republicans are correctly criticized for making any tax increase (no matter how small or how dubious a tax break withdrawn) a reason to oppose a higher debt ceiling. But long-standing Democratic intransigence over curbing social spending is the underlying reason why the nation is perilously playing debt ceiling roulette

Americans Support Higher Taxes. Really.
29 Jun 2011
Posted by Bruce Bartlett

Contrary to Republican dogma, polls show that the American people strongly support higher taxes to reduce the deficit and improve income inequality. Following are 19 different polls since the first of the year that say so.

A June 9 Washington Post/ABC News poll found that 61 percent of people believe higher taxes will be necessary to reduce the deficit.

A June 7 Pew poll found strong support for tax increases to reduce the deficit; 67 percent of people favor raising the wage cap for Social Security taxes, 66 percent raising income tax rates on those making more than $250,000, and 62 percent favor limiting tax deductions for large corporations. A plurality of people would also limit the mortgage interest deduction.

A May 26 Lake Research poll of Colorado voters found that they support higher taxes on the rich to shore-up Social Security’s finances by a 44 percent to 25 percent margin.

A May 13 Bloomberg poll found that only one third of people believe it is possible to substantially reduce the budget deficit without higher taxes; two thirds do not.

A May 12 Ipsos/Reuters poll found that three-fifths of people would support higher taxes to reduce the deficit.

A May 4 Quinnipiac poll found that people favor raising taxes on those making more than $250,000 to reduce the deficit by a 69 percent to 28 percent margin.

An April 29 Gallup poll found that only 20 percent of people believe the budget deficit should be reduced only by cutting spending; 76 percent say that higher taxes must play a role.

An April 25 USC/Los Angeles Times poll of Californians found that by about a 2-to-1 margin voters favor raising taxes to deal with the state’s budget problems over cutting spending alone.

An April 22 New York Times/CBS News poll found that 72 percent of people favor raising taxes on the rich to reduce the deficit. It also found that 66 percent of people believe tax increases will be necessary to reduce the deficit versus 19 percent who believe spending cuts alone are sufficient.

An April 20 Washington Post/ABC News poll found that by a 2-to-1 margin people favor a combination of higher taxes and spending cuts over spending cuts alone to reduce the deficit. It also found that 72 percent of people favor raising taxes on the rich to reduce the deficit and it is far and away the most popular deficit reduction measure.

An April 20 Public Religion Research Institute poll found that by a 2-to-1 margin, people believe that the wealthy should pay more taxes than the poor or middle class. Also, 62 percent of people believe that growing inequality of wealth is a serious problem.

An April 18 McClatchy-Marist poll found that voters support higher taxes on the rich to reduce the deficit by a 2-to-1 margin, including 45 percent of self-identified Tea Party members.

An April 18 Gallup poll found that 67 percent of people do not believe that corporations pay their fair share of taxes, and 59 percent believe that the rich do not pay their fair share.

On April 1, Tulchin Research released a poll showing that voters in California overwhelmingly support higher taxes on the rich to deal with the state’s budgetary problems.

A March 15 ABC News/Washington Post poll found that only 31 percent of voters support the Republican policy of only cutting spending to reduce the deficit; 64 percent believe higher taxes will also be necessary.

A March 2 NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll found that 81 percent of people would support a surtax on millionaires to help reduce the budget deficit, and 68 percent would support eliminating the Bush tax cuts for those earning more than $250,000.

A February 15 CBS News poll found that only 49 percent of people believe that reducing the deficit will require cuts in programs that benefit them; 41 percent do not. Also, only 37 percent of people believe that reducing the deficit will require higher taxes on them; 59 percent do not.

A January 20 CBS News/New York Times poll found that close to two-thirds of people would rather raise taxes than cut benefits for Social Security or Medicare in order to stabilize their finances. The poll also found that if taxes must be raised, 33 percent would favor a national sales tax, 32 percent would support restricting the mortgage interest deduction, 12 percent would raise the gasoline taxes, and 10 percent would tax health care benefits.

On January 3, a 60 Minutes/Vanity Fair poll found that 61 percent of people would rather raise taxes on the rich to balance the budget than cut defense, Social Security or Medicare.