Quote:
Originally Posted by Halx
So, dk, what are your reactions to the link I posted that argued against the many points that the tea baggers rally around?
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Halx, here are my views on it. I'm pretty sure they don't match what you think of the 'baggers', but I believe most are pretty representative of the majority of TEA protesters.
President Obama Cut Your Taxes
yes, and then they raised taxes on several common use products to make up for it. it can hardly be called a tax cut if the end user has to pay more for the products they consume due to those taxes being raised. That is what we call intellectual dishonesty, or in other words, smoke and mirrors.
jump starting GDP is another smoke and mirrors because the government does not produce. it only consumes and it is pure deception to the tax payer who ends up paying for this 'jump start'. It is also impossible to 'preserve jobs' and then be able to prove it. That's about as bad as saying that the patriot act and torture worked because we haven't been attacked since 9/11. Creating 60,000 government jobs does nothing for long term economy because those of us not working in the government sector have to pay the salaries of those who are. If the unemployment rate is rising, eventually the federal budget is going to implode and all of those newly created gov jobs are going to vanish.
The Stimulus is Working
pumping billions of dollars in to state coffers, allowing state legislatures to have their own pet projects, is another long term disaster. It has two effects: increases our overall debt which still has to be repaid, and it only teaches the states that in dire circumstances they can get bailed out by the feds. Both will be economic disasters.
First Reagan Tripled the National Debt..
Then Bush Doubled It Again
no argument from me here, but why can't we learn from history? deficit spending doesn't work, never has, never will. 'trickle down' should have been called 'trickle up'. That's all it did.
Republican States Have the Worst Health Care
This has more to do with the stranglehold that the insurance industries have on these states and is not indicative of the quality of health care. This should be one of the issues I talked about dealing with first and foremost. remove the power of the insurance industries. You can't do that by requiring insurance be maintained by americans. It only feeds the insurance company coffers.
Medicare is a Government Program
This goes back to what I said about the massive change. Medicare wasn't something that was widely supported when it was brought up, but the same way that social security was adapted and instituted as an entitlement, so was medicare. My grandmother is on medicare and my wife is soon to be on it as well. I've seen how my grandmothers health care has been handled and i'm not looking forward to seeing it happen to my wife. I'm not fond of it happening to me either. Again, massive change is not good, even if you think it is. All it does is throw peoples lives and realities in upheaval.
Barack Obama is Not a Muslim
non debatable on my part. another useless argument because some people will believe what they are going to believe. kind of like 'well regulated militia' means the national guard. I'll get better results banging my skull in to a brick wall. It's also just one more thing that alienates the majority of mainstreamers on the conservative side, by lumping them all in to the same category of batshit insane. not a smart move.
70,000 Does Not Equal 2,000,000
I wasn't there so I can't say for certain. I've heard about the fake picture from another event and i've heard the estimate of numbers. If that's more important to you than the actual emotions held, not just by those there, but the others that feel the same way who couldn't be there (and you can count me in on the group that wanted to be there but couldn't) then you're making the very mistake I told you others were making.....ignoring them and their non representation.
The Economy Almost Always Does Better Under Democrats
this may be, but if it is then they are also unsustainable as well. Every economic boom by a democrat has been followed by a burst bubble. I'll grant you, though, that it doesn't do great under republicans either. The one true thing that eludes alot of partisans on both sides is that your politicians are in almost all ways beholden to corporatism. They will look out for their money first and foremost. Republicans and Democrats alike. If you choose to ignore that fact, then there really isn't an issue about debating facts and reality as much as it is just pressing an ideological agenda. something I really want no part of.