It's not about how much you EARN.. It's about how much you have LEFT

[SoCalDem]

after your basics are met..

Rich and poor have the same basic needs..

If every penny you make barely covers your basic needs, there will NEVER be enough to "save for your old age" or "Save for your kids' education" or any of the things that the repubes are always promoting..

They love to spout off about how "the government is not in charge of creating jobs"..and that may be "true", BUT , the government sets the TONE.

There is NO need whatsoever to promote tax cuts that give huge windfalls for already wealthy people. They can only buy so much..

The purchases that drive the engine of our economy are the ones made by the middle class.. We are the ones who buy the majority of the "everyday" stuff..

If we have no "extra" money to spend, or we are afraid of having "NO" money to spend, guess what?? The engine STOPS...

Sooner or later those credit card limits will be reached, and lots of the "middles" will throw in the towel and declare bankruptcy (before the government rams through the new changes)...

What will happen then, Mr. Bush???

Corporations who only care about THEIR bottom line and the stockholders will be having a pretty rough time then, when people just quit buying things..


The basics of our lives are consuming an ever-greater portion of our incomes, and they DO come first.. Gotta pay the mortgage, gotta pay the utilities, gotta buy gasoline, gotta pay the property taxes,the phone bill, the health insurance premiums, gotta buy the prescriptions,and then maybe someone will get hungry, so gotta buy groceries...

What's left over?? Most people run out of money before they run out of month, these days :shrug:

[DuctapeFatwa]

1. It's not a problem, you've probably already noticed a trend toward

non-defense related companies transitioning more to defense and energy related revenue sources, and at the same time a consolidation of totally non-defense related goods and services.

For example, Wal-Mart. As the number of consumers with discretionary income decreases, there is less need for lots of different stores all competing for that same reduced market. However, enough discretionary income consumers will remain to be profitable for Wal-Mart.

You can see similar trends in the entertainment sector, as well as banking.

[drthais]

2. "the government is not responsible....

....for creating jopbs"
you must have been watching C-Span this morning
I think someone called in and actually said that

of course, they TOTALLY missed the point

and the point is this>

"It's STILL the Economy, Stupid!"

wouldn't you like one of those bumper stickers?

[TacticalPeek]

3. I don't need much income, only 1% or 2 %

more than I spend. :silly:

Actually, 1% would do, since I can spend a lot if I try. But 2% is like, insurance, you know?

[Deja Q]

4. the government is not in charge of creating jobs

Then explain President Pilferer's* continued use of tax cuts to the wealthy that have resulted in 0 jobs. He* thinks he's in charge... which is the furthest thing from the truth, he lacks the intelligence to be in charge of a can of baked beans.

And those bankruptcy changes are vulgar too. The banks are a business. They're turning themselves from a business to an equivalent of vicious loan shark who'll break your arms if you miss a payment while doubling the interest rate as 'punishment' as well... they want it all. It's corporate fascism, nothing more.

[KoKo]

5. I know SoCal, but the Government Statistics Reports don't count those

folks in. They only count re-fi of the "McMansion Homestead" the "leased SUV's" the bought "Hummers" for the tax deduction and how much "stuff" we buy at WalMart which is made in China which increases the US
GDP (Gross Domestic Product....note "gross"..) which is 70% of what keeps the US Economy going today!

Not factories producing goods and services. But, Americans Re-Mortgaging homes based on "inflated prices" when they tell us there's NO Inflation, and maxing credit cards just to keep up with what they feel they need which is marketed to them on CNBC/CNN/MSNBC and the Drug Companies telling them they are sexually, physically, emotionally disfunctional.....and just "ask your doctor about....." so that you too can have lyposuction, erectile function, no lines or wrinkles and be 20 something forever.....as long as you don't import drugs from Canada and petition your Congress to throw folks off the welfare rolls so you can afford these "enhancements" while the rest of folks and their kids can't even get basic access to preventive or primary care for the most basic of needs.

What a "topsy/turvey" world we live in.

[Festivito]

6. It's not how much you pay in taxes, it's what's left.

I'll have to use this next time they throw the tax and spend at me. Along with the fact that Bush borrowed over 1500 dollars per year per person working or not.

521B$/280M people = $1860 per year per person, and only some got $600 back.

[SoCalDem]

7. That's true..

I hate it when people talk in terms of gross income..Average working people NEVER see their gross income.. They get what's left after all their payroll taxes are removed...and THEN their living expenses are taken away, and guess what??? For most people there is not a lot left over..

There is a real disconnect with lots of people when it comes to money..

Rich people have NO concept at all about how most people live.. When they want something, they just buy it.. They may complain about how expensive it was, but they don't have to decide between paying the mortgage late and taking a sick kid to the doctor...or repairing the go-to-work-car...or a trip to the grocery store..

Most people don't really dream about being super-rich.. they just would like to know how it feels to NOT worry about the bills every month..

[Festivito]

8. You say it well.

Another thing they do not consider.

They can have less money left AND,

they can have less retirement security,
less health security for old age,
less insurance security for individual problems,
less anti-terrorism security,
and the list goes on.

[Lindacooks]

9. That's my point!

and when we're talking about the various taxable income levels in this country, rather than listing the amount of money people pay out, let's list the amount of money they have left over.

Ordinary people simply cannot grasp the fact that if somebody is paying $80,000 in federal taxes, they still have hundreds of thousands of dollars (if not millions) left over!!