Great read. Thanx....

The only part I didn't like was how the author highlighted those Rich and powerful Executives as evil entities. I don't think the make enough money. A few more billion in their pockets would be a good thing. I mean afterall, who can enjoy their lives with only 2 Yachts, private jets and a mansion in 12 states. I'd need a few more. The nerve of the author....

you need to learn more about the Tea Party, I am a member and have no desire to help the Rich or keep them from paying their fair share. On another note , the rich shouldn't be expected to foot the bill for the poor, taking it away from one to give to another is stealing.If you want to help the poor, then find out why they are poor, lack of education is top of the list, I don't feel sorry for high school drop outs or drug addicts or losers who bring children in this world they know they can't feed or clothe, its not anyones job to foot the bill for the bad decisions of others.
plain and fuking simple...if you can't afford it, you cant have it. work for it and save up.

@sully16:
Most of the debate in DC these days is about tax CUTS, not INCREASES. Some people like to refer to cessation of the CUTS as increases but really, the issue is whether to continue the tax CUTS for high income people put into place with George Bush's urging and approval. The lower rates were scheduled to return to their previous levels. But you seem to be telling us that rich people should continue to benefit from these HISTORICALLY LOW rates, and poor people should balance the budget. Do you really think that throwing dead beats off of Welfare [fine with me] would make a serious dent in the deficit? Here is a book that will help you answer that question...
http://books.google.com/books/about/Take_the_rich_off_welfare.html?id=ALAckvl7SskC

I'll check out the book, The freeloaders are one issue, I am against bailouts and most foreign aid and of course the crazy spending on everything, I am the middleclass thats stuck footing the bill, I don't believe the rich should pay more because they are rich, they earned it. They do pay taxes just like the rest of us that works, I know many millionaires in my line of work and they will tell you they are sick of the taxes as well, My point is that we are all taxed to much and the spending has got to stop.
Social security, I have been paying into for 32 years, and I watch some fat fatty with type 2 diabetes enjoy my bennies through SSI, THAT BS NEEDS TO STOP,
Because I am a property owner, my property taxes get portioned out all over, police, fire, school, parks, city maintennance and the ever popular pensions as well as paychecks.
The freeloaders in low income housing and all the illegals, have access to all of those services on my dime, Did I ever hear anyone say thank you,,,hell no, wa wa wa , you own a house you should pay more, and that sums it up.
When we bought this house 27 years ago, we started with lawn chairs for furniture, and we worked and saved for the things we wanted.
We have saved our entire lives, I grew up in that sh*t hole called Detroit, and I had enough sense to know that I didn;t want to end up like the people around me, poor and old.
We sacrificed ,we saved , yes we have stocks and 401k's , I want to see the companies I own succeed and make a profit, I went without and saved a little each week to have these things and a future of comfort when I am old,
my point of the deadbeats, is most of them are broke, not poverty poor, the ajority of takers have real nice clothes, cars and jewelry, not my idea of poverty..take away the freebies and watch how fast many of them get a job and contribute to the tax base.
Yes there are plenty of jobs, these just aren't very fun and they don't pay a kings ransom , but they are there.

@Sully16:

You're not alone in your frustration. Our social programs in this country are in a shambles. There ARE deadbeats on welfare. There IS fraud to be found in Medicare payments. However, there are families who, because of the crazy thresholds of income restrictions and other complications, are forced to either reject low paying employment, or hide their income, or otherwise lose their medical coverage, etc. The reason this is true is because we, as a country, have not decided to make healthcare and living wages a priority and accessible to all. It's a constant tug-of-war between haves and have-nots! Unfortunately for average people, health insurance companies have some pretty heavy equipment helping them pull on their end of the rope!

The concentration of wealth in this country has dramatically shifted to a smaller and smaller percentage of the people since 1980. The people who are benefiting from the historically low tax rates at the high income levels want you to believe that the problem is in entitlements for the poor and retired. Greed? What other term can you use to describe the motives of extremely rich people using any method they can come up with to get you to believe they pay their "fair share" so they can continue to pay historically low rates? PLEASE READ THE ARTICLE ABOVE AGAIN, and check out the book.

In the meantime, ask yourself how the Scandinavian countries, with income tax rates that are MULTIPLES of our average, somehow seem to be able to provide healthcare for everyone, AND score far above the US on most measures of general happiness of their populations.

Here is just one look at that, possibly an eye opener for you:

http://www.forbes.com/2009/05/05/world-happiest-places-lifestyle-travel-world-happiest.html

--Jimmy4164

I'll check it out,I was venting on one small frustration,it is something I have to see everyday,I am looking for new work, slicing prime rib for someone on welfare gets to you after a while.

If others read like me, they may have missed the link at the site I pointed to above that takes you through a slide show of the top ten countries, starting with the tenth:

http://www.forbes.com/2009/05/05/world-happiest-places-lifestyle-travel-world-happiest_slide_2.html?thisspeed=25000

Remember, these people have these high Satisfaction With Life scores, high GDP per capita measures, and low unemployment rates while at the same time, have no concerns about going broke if they get sick!

People I know in 2 of these countries told me that they concluded long ago that an unemployed and/or poor person is much more likely to be interested in bettering themselves if they are HEALTHY!

I have to be a mom and a wife, so sometimes it takes awhile to get to things, I will I promise.