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Politics : American Presidential Politics and foreign affairs -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: TimF who wrote (43714)	6/9/2010 9:03:41 PM
From: DuckTapeSunroof	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 71588

Re: "My point is that it doesn't lower the top rate," Correct, it doesn't. (Still that rate has been lowered many times over the last couple 'o decades already....) Re: "and may not lower rates at all (I'd have to look up the details to tell that, its only obvious that it doesn't lower the top rate)." You are incorrect on that... go back to the originally posted article: you will see the other rates are lowered. Re: [After all, why should ONE FORM of capital raising - going into debt - be FAVORED by the tax codes over ALL OTHER FORMS of capital raising (such as savings... equity issuance, etc.)?] "For personal non-mortgage debt it no longer is (but it used to be before Reagan)" True. Credit card debt and such is not any longer deductible (one of the reasons people loaded up so much on second and third mortgages in this recent financial bubble/bust... how did that particular enticement to more and more consumer debt work out for society?) That is also one of the larger points: the American society REALLY does not need our tax codes to be promoting more debt like it does. If anything we would be better off with more SAVINGS which could go into Capital formation. The boom/bust cycles would be less severe, too. Re: "For corporations, well corporations are taxed on profit not revenue. If they have to pay a lot of interest they might not be making any profit...." (Actually some taxes go both ways....) But the larger point remains the same as with individuals: an excessive accumulation of DEBT (artificially encouraged and nurtured and promoted by the structuring of the tax codes...) produces INSTABILITY in the economic system. Boom/Bust cycles. 'Get rich quick while you can before the whole house of cards comes collapsing down' psychologies and behaviors by both individuals and by corporations. And our corporations (especially financial sector) remain some of the more heavily indebted in the whole world....

To: TimF who wrote (43714)	6/12/2010 11:55:05 PM
From: Peter Dierks	1 Recommendation Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 71588

An Administration Adrift by Michael Reagan 06/12/2010 As we pass the 50-day mark of the terrible oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, it seems like the more things change the more they stay the same. As I have previously discussed, sometimes terrible tragedies occur for which even the most diligent administrations cannot prepare. While it can and should be properly debated whether this tragedy is one of those events, our collective priority must be the well-being of our ecosystem and the many Gulf Coast residents who are being impacted. We must also continue to keep the family members of those lost during the initial accident in our thoughts and prayers. But today we must also explore the attitude and focus of the Obama administration as this terrible tragedy unfolds -- seemingly around them. What President Obama must learn is that his job is more than chief executive -- it is also chief communicator. And on that side of the equation, his administration has failed terribly, always seeming to play catch-up when it comes to the unfolding Gulf narrative. At times the president has seemed distant and even disinterested -- publicly partying with musicians or welcoming victorious basketball squads to the White House. He has seems oblivious to the fact that many of the cable networks carry his appearances alongside a live box of oil flowing from an underground pipe -- poisoning our environment each passing moment he addresses another subject. In a purely defensive posture, the president has tried to counter such criticisms by saying that he is not in the business of the “theater” but rather the business of leading on behalf of the people. And in a perfect world he would be right. But this is reality -- a reality the president himself came to just a few days later when he used his pre-planned zinger about finding the right asses to kick in order to hold people accountable on the spill. Simply put, the administration is trying everything it can think of to get its arms around this issue. At times, they seem just as concerned with trying to stop the leak of public opinion as trying to figure out a way to stop the Gulf leak from spewing oil. With poll after poll showing that the public feels that both the administration and BP are equally at fault in not doing enough to get this disaster under control, the Obama presidency finds itself staring at further erosion of the support of a nation that overwhelmingly supported their change agenda. If they don’t resolve this matter by figuring out how the get this leak under control, clean up the habitat and protect Gulf residents from further harm, they may find themselves looking at the kind of political changes reserved for one-term presidencies. For the good of our nation, especially our neighbors down south, and for his own political viability, President Obama better find a plan and a message that puts an end to a tragedy that is running 24/7 on cable news. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mike Reagan, the elder son of the late President Ronald Reagan, is heard on 130 radio stations nationally as part of American Family Radio. Look for Mike's newest book "Twice Adopted" (Broadman & Holman Publishers) and "The City on a Hill," other info at www.Reagan.com. humanevents.com