If you are honest with yourself about what you actually believe, then YES, you are. At least according to a recent survey...

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE62S44B20100329?feedType=RSS&feedName=domesticNews
Most Americans: "Tax the rich but not me"

Quote :

"The Quinnipiac University poll found that 60 percent of Americans among both major political parties think raising income taxes on households making more than $250,000 should be a main tenet of the government's efforts to tame the deficit. More than 70 percent, including a majority of Republicans, say those making more than $1 million should pay more. But 80 percent say raising taxes on those making less than that should not be part of the government's approach. Moreover, most oppose touching Medicare and Social Security - two long-term drivers of the budget deficit over the coming decades. "

4/4/2010 1:07:16 AM

so in other words: nobody wants their taxes to go up.

4/4/2010 1:08:58 AM

i am a progressive.

4/4/2010 2:11:36 AM

You can use synonyms!

4/4/2010 2:24:38 AM

shocker no one wants to pay their tab

4/4/2010 10:56:13 AM

Quote :

"Moreover, most oppose touching Medicare and Social Security - two long-term drivers of the budget deficit over the coming decades."

People are dumb as shit.

4/4/2010 11:00:14 AM

See, I am one of the few people who has no problem paying taxes, and I think that we could probably pay more in taxes if it was spent well and helped prevent future problems. I think that most people generally waste their money on frivolous things anyway (including me) like cable tv, cell phones, etc., and that it would be better spent getting us out of debt, protecting the national forests, maintaining roads, or providing a better overall environment in which we live.

(Cue the obligatory..."Well maybe YOU waste your money on frivolous things, but I don't...if you want to give your money away, go right ahead." Simple thing, people are greedy, and no matter how much money they have, they want more.)

[Edited on April 4, 2010 at 11:03 AM. Reason : m]

4/4/2010 11:02:21 AM

spending money on people who refuse to do for themselves is frivolous.

4/4/2010 11:29:13 AM

Nah, I'm a radical.

As long as taxes go to war, I'm not sure I want anyone paying more.

4/4/2010 11:32:57 AM

Quote :

"I think that we could probably pay more in taxes if it was spent well"

4/4/2010 11:33:13 AM

moron strikes again presenting us with the unbiased science and facts

wait so nobody wants to be taxed and in essence wants less govt 'babysitting them'

i guess we really are mostly conservatives. thanks moron.

[Edited on April 4, 2010 at 3:54 PM. Reason : .]

4/4/2010 3:53:39 PM

yeah, i know there's the issue of how government money is spent.

but hell, it's not like joe public is even TRYING to spend his money well.

4/4/2010 4:20:04 PM

^ the problem is that one man's "good spending" is another man's "communism."

There's very few places you can cut that would make us all happy.

^^ actually, it says that people prefer a progressive tax structure, which is a more liberal philosophy. Nice try though, i'll give you an A for the effort.

on a side note...

Quote :

"The individuals who make up the Tea Party movement are largely conservative and get their news from Fox; they're generally old and of moderate to low income; and they're fairly convinced that their taxes are going to rise in the next few years, even though they likely won't. ... Winston was able to peg the percentage of the public that identifies itself with the Tea Party at roughly 17 percent. The group pledges that it is independent of any particular party (indeed 28 percent of Tea Party respondents in the Winston survey labeled their affiliation as such). But on pretty much every defining political or demographic issue, the movement lines up with the GOP or conservative alternatives."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/01/tea-party-survey-old-cons_n_522336.html

4/4/2010 4:38:48 PM

Quote :

"spending money on people who refuse to do for themselves is frivolous."

Agreed...

Quote :

"he individuals who make up the Tea Party movement are largely conservative and get their news from Fox; they're generally old and of moderate to low income; and they're fairly convinced that their taxes are going to rise in the next few years, even though they likely won't."

This is what i find funny though. These people probably have a new income tax of 0%; and would be bitching up a storm
if the government cut their social security/food stamp checks/ farm subsidies in order to cut back on gov't spending and to lower taxes.

4/4/2010 10:12:02 PM

Quote :

"spending money on people who refuse to do for themselves is frivolous."

It's hilarious that privileged people are the only ones to make this argument.

4/5/2010 9:16:13 AM

they are not.

in fact, when unprivileged people make that argument, people like you excoriate them.

See an example from HUR:
message_topic.aspx?topic=591112&page=3#13860282

[Edited on April 5, 2010 at 9:28 AM. Reason : s]

4/5/2010 9:26:21 AM

The problem with conservatives is that they presume everyone that’s not themselves are the people who “refuse to do for themselves.”

There’s no way to determine who those people are, and i’m not convinced that it’s a meaningful % of the population.

4/5/2010 9:28:37 AM

"Kill the rich" - Warren Buffett

4/5/2010 9:31:45 AM

^^ Also, that none of the people in this thread have "done in themselves."

Same tired argument.

4/5/2010 10:09:30 AM

Quote :

""I think that we could probably pay more in taxes if it was spent well""

A true statement. And as moron pointed out you cant make everyone happy bc they have different beliefs and views. Which is why I would favor people keeping more of thier money and choosing to pay more in taxes if needed or less if they oppose, via the fairtax. Bc once they have taken your money you have no say in how it is spent. When you have YOUR money, YOU control where it goes.

This crap of 9 people forcing the 10th to pick up the tab needs to stop.

4/5/2010 10:15:56 AM

But the 10th person can afford it with no real change in their lifestyle.

4/5/2010 10:21:52 AM

^says the other 9. I think you assume too much. And you somehow think its still ok?

4/5/2010 10:24:17 AM

Yes.

There's not much suffering involved if a man who makes $20,000,000 pays 50% in taxes and ends up living on $10,000,000. One would be hard pressed to argue that he is living a life of misery only taking home $10,000,000.

However there's a huge difference between a man who makes $20,000 and one who makes $10,000.

4/5/2010 10:27:08 AM

that assumes a lot. And where do you see my advocating a 50% tax rate for everyone?

4/5/2010 10:35:15 AM

I'm not saying that all. I'm just giving an example of how high taxes for the rich don't hurt their quality of life.

4/5/2010 10:36:54 AM

and that is an assumption.

4/5/2010 10:38:02 AM

...Keep your hands off of my stack...

4/5/2010 10:39:19 AM

.. that you earned off the backs of others by institutional benefits and parents who provided for you.

It wasn't yours to begin with.

4/5/2010 10:40:25 AM

Quote :

"and that is an assumption."

on a roll today God

4/5/2010 10:41:18 AM

He's welcome to prove me wrong with his inspiring tale of a rags to riches story. Of how he fought the odds and, despite being male, White and middle class, managed to be successful in life.

4/5/2010 10:42:36 AM

Or the fact that the vast majority of millionares in the US are first generation.

But whatever helps you sleep at night.

"An amazing fact: 80% of millionaires are first generation millionaires; they have made their money on their own, in their lifetime."

http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/Mattos1.html

Im curious how many of those you do God, and how many of those you do the opposite? Much easier to bitch and vote than earn/invest. (yes, now Im the one assuming)

[Edited on April 5, 2010 at 10:49 AM. Reason : .]

4/5/2010 10:46:03 AM

Quote :

"He's welcome to prove me wrong with his inspiring tale of a rags to riches story. Of how he fought the odds and, despite being male, White and middle class, managed to be successful in life."

Sounds like you're judging someone based on their sex, financial status, AND race.

You fucking loser

4/5/2010 11:34:27 AM

Quote :

"Or the fact that the vast majority of millionares in the US are first generation."

what about a distinction that doesn't involve an arbitrary number?

4/5/2010 11:36:26 AM

Quote :

""An amazing fact: 80% of millionaires are first generation millionaires; they have made their money on their own, in their lifetime." http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/Mattos1.html Im curious how many of those you do God, and how many of those you do the opposite? Much easier to bitch and vote than earn/invest. (yes, now Im the one assuming)"

[Citation needed] from a site that sells "self-improvement" shit all over the site. Great source.

Quote :

"Sounds like you're judging someone based on their sex, financial status, AND race. You fucking loser"

And? It's true.

4/5/2010 11:39:24 AM

Quote :

"so in other words: nobody wants their taxes to go up."

I think it's just the American attitude that no one wants to pay for shit.

4/5/2010 10:10:44 PM

Quote :

"I'm not saying that all. I'm just giving an example of how high taxes for the rich don't hurt their quality of life."

While taxing the rich will certainly not harm their quality of life, it certainly harms the quality of life of the rest of us. The rich are already rich, there is nothing you can do to them. However, the rest of us still depend upon what they do for us. Wealth is not a gift from heaven, it must be produced, and high tax rates can break key elements of the economy's machinery.

4/5/2010 10:46:32 PM

^Historically, in the US, that has never been the case. Our companies thrived in the past under what we would consider exorbitant rates today.

[Edited on April 5, 2010 at 10:50 PM. Reason : ]

4/5/2010 10:48:11 PM

^^ Reagan has fooled you

4/5/2010 10:49:13 PM

^^^Well thanks, massa, for all yo table scraps you throws down so I can eat. I be sho to make it so's nobody eva tries ta take yo plantation. I sho is grateful ya'll gives me and my chillins a field ta work in.

[Edited on April 5, 2010 at 10:53 PM. Reason : m]

4/5/2010 10:53:33 PM

oh, I get it... you can use racist stereotypical perversions of a slave's dialect because you're a liberal.

4/5/2010 10:57:49 PM

No, I use the slave dialect to show the analogy between the plantation owner-slave dynamic and the wealthy company owner-common worker and it exemplifies my point.

Of course, I can see how you would automatically assume that every thing I do is allowable because I'm a liberal.

[Edited on April 5, 2010 at 11:30 PM. Reason : m]

4/5/2010 11:28:38 PM

oh i see... its cool for you to use racist steretypical dialects in order to make a point, as long as it's for the good of a liberal's cause.

4/5/2010 11:30:10 PM

no, it's cool for you to use it as well, assuming that your point is valid.

i'm not hypocritical.

4/5/2010 11:30:59 PM

I'm registering to vote either tomorrow or Wednesday and I'm going to register as Independent... I range from moderate to conservative Democrat from issue to issue.

4/5/2010 11:31:10 PM

^^ did you seriously just fall for solinari's troll? The proper response was to ignore him.

4/5/2010 11:31:46 PM

eh, not a big deal. he feels better, i don't feel any worse, no worries.

4/5/2010 11:33:09 PM

newsflash: tww arguments never convince anyone

4/5/2010 11:35:40 PM

^ speak for yourself. Just because you're a hack doesn't mean everyone else is.

4/5/2010 11:39:30 PM

lol.... ok...


*backs away slowly*

4/5/2010 11:40:03 PM

^^^i'd disagree, but i can only speak for me. i don't think that it will necessarily change someone's mind, but you can hopefully make them think a little more, and it may happen over time.

i can say my perspective on gun issues was changed a little based on the 2nd amendment thread. not enough to make me change my mind entirely, but i thought several of the posters made good points and had good information. making my arguments also assisted in the thought process as well.

[Edited on April 5, 2010 at 11:44 PM. Reason : bv]

4/5/2010 11:43:52 PM