The Most Important Chart in American Politics

Originally posted by inj3ct0r
There are Hidden taxes in everything.A look at a phone bill,electricity bill and it's mostly taxes.The government is most probably robbing the American's to fulfill its agenda(s), quantitative easing, taxation.

edit on 5-2-2013 by inj3ct0r because: (no reason given)

You make a very good point. To highlight your point a bit, I will give everyone an idea of what my bill says. I just happen to have it right in front of me.

Now to give people an idea of my energy usage...

I work 40+ hours a week. I work from 11:30pm to 8am, 5 days a week. I do not leave lights on when I am not home. I do not leave lights on in rooms that I am not in. I am actually pretty conservative in that regard to a point that I actually annoy others. Only I live in my home. So what do I pay?

My total bill is 128.56

Out of that total, my actual energy usage was $75.37. The remaining money is all taxes. Here is the breakdown...

Energy charge= 75.37
Customer charge= 4.46
Fuel adjustment charge= 44.61
Federal mandated EAC Rider= 0.2
LURC 2005 Hurricane Charge= 4.32
LURC 2008 hurricane charge= 3.01

Which brings us to our total of 128.56

reply to post by xedocodex


Agreed ,low wages and an increased dependency on debt in order to manager every day life.

~Tenth

reply to post by chasingbrahman

No.
Not every state with a social state principle has to follow this trajectory.
The social state priciniple per se is a wonderful thing, but only if implemented correctly and in a state that can afford it.

reply to post by undo


You're absolutely right, therefor what you said in your post needs to become part of the dialogue. I can literally feel heat come to my face when I think about our troops and vets suffering while the defense contractors live like kings. Our government and the good old boys revolving door in the DoD think of our troops like fodder, disposable... cogs that turn the wheels of their money trains. I think it highly commendable that there aren't a high level of friendly fire deaths among defense contractor douche bags as they are escorted around war zones shielded by US Military grade A, human flesh. Pigs.

reply to post by tothetenthpower


How is sound fiscal policy going to affect the lives of individual Americans who you admit are poor? I would be proud of the USA for balancing a budget but don't see how that in itself can make that much difference to people?

What the USA needs is a MISSION STATEMENT.
It needs to find out what our goals as a Nation are now and follow them.

It goes without saying that prosperity for the maximum number of people will top that list and efforts should be pointed in that direction rather than assuring prosperity for only a few and subjugation and poverty for the remainder which IMO is where we are headed.

Of course we want to be the world leader in other areas but the happiness and prosperity of the people should come first. Create good paying jobs and educate people to take them if we have to government mandate it yes. Lord knows there's enough that needs to be done! And yet no jobs????

It is because what needs to be done doesn't pay.
So we have to ask ourselves -
Is it helping to be so profit driven a country at the expense of all other virtues?

Should Capitalism be the GOD? Maybe not.

Maybe individual success rather than corporate success should be a focus?

I read the following earlier this morning and then came across this thread..

Not Good...

According to projections from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), entitlements and ObamaCare spending will comprise 53 percent of all federal spending over the coming decade, totaling $24.9 trillion.

In its updated Budget and Economic Outlook report released on Tuesday, the CBO projects that Social Security will account for $11.149 trillion in spending from 2014 to 2023 while federal health care entitlements, including Medicare, Medicaid, and ObamaCare, will spend $13.85 trillion. (That total includes TRICARE, CHIP, and "other" spending listed by the CBO under healthcare.)

ObamaCare’s insurance subsidies, exchange costs, and other spending are expected to cost the government $949 billion over the next 10 years. Medicare is expected cost $8.1 trillion while Medicaid is expected to cost $4.4 trillion.

Combined, these two entitlement categories (Social Security and all health care programs) will comprise 52.9 percent of the projected $47.2 trillion in total federal outlays from 2014 to 2023.

Unsustainable... Here is the kicker (serious lack of off sets)

For instance, of the $13.85 trillion in health care entitlement spending, $12.2 trillion of it is not paid for via dedicated taxation, meaning that it will have to come out of general tax revenue or be added to the deficit.

In fact, over the next decade, the federal government will collect only $2.6 trillion in dedicated revenues for its mandatory spending programs, as opposed to $31.6 trillion in spending.

OOOF!


cnsnews.com...

reply to post by jibeho


What does any of that have to do with household income?

Seriously, it's like you all use the same playbook (or more likely, listen to the same shows to tell you how to respond).

reply to post by xedocodex


Who the hell are you? I guess you missed the conversation on the first page of the thread... We've got a serious problem in this country...

Originally posted by xedocodex
I see a few members here have successfully derailed this thread from talking about HOUSEHOLD INCOME into talking about GOVERNMENT SPENDING.

The two aren't linked...just a convenient way to ignore talking about what actually is the biggest issue in this country (low wages) and turning it into their favorite Right Wing talking point.

It's a shame, because Household income is a huge issue, and if we would fix that, it would fix many other issues.

They are linked. Stagnant income and bottomless spending means that the govt. needs to tap the taxpayers even more at the same time nearly 50% pay zero federal income tax. Thereby reducing income further with no end in sight as the pinching and choking of the middle class continues. Gotta reign in spending chief .. We are completely out of balance....

Originally posted by jibeho
reply to post by xedocodex

 

Who the hell are you? I guess you missed the conversation on the first page of the thread... We've got a serious problem in this country...

Who the hell are you???

I saw the whole conversation on the first page...it was a big derailment of the OP...which is about HOUSEHOLD INCOME.

reply to post by xedocodex


see my previous post.... It's pretty simple.... I guess you want to turn this into a bash the 1% thread eh. Please share your ideas instead of criticizing individual posters. Perhaps, that's too much work... much easier to troll and poke...

reply to post by jibeho

They are linked. Stagnant income and bottomless spending means that the govt. needs to tap the taxpayers even more at the same time nearly 50% pay zero federal income tax. Thereby reducing income further with no end in sight as the pinching and choking of the middle class continues. Gotta reign in spending chief .. We are completely out of balance....

Taxes isn't what is responsible for stagnating household income. It's a false argument to try to derail the topic and not admit where the real issue is.

Corporate profits are up, Productivity is up...why isn't income up as well?

To address this problem, you would have to admit that our capitalist system is being gamed by those at the top to create a huge income gap. You would have to admit that the GOP caters to corporations and fights for them to get more tax breaks and benefits. You would have to admit that you and other GOP supporters are voting directly against your own interests and the only person you have to blame for your own misfortunes is yourself.

But that is hard to do...admit to your faults...so instead, you blame the government

reply to post by xedocodex


Don't just blame the GOP. That argument will lead you no where. Both sides are culpable and have gotten rich off of the mess that we are in. Do a little research on the swelling net worth of our nations Career politicians. Many of whom have 20 plus years under their belts and the same number of years greasing palms, scratching backs and making investments based on well informed "hunches" It happens on both sides of the aisle...

I agree with you regarding average household income but hidden taxes, surcharges etc etc suck that dry, cost of living is increasing and wages are stagnant, fuel costs are increasing, and just wait until Obamacare kicks in leaving a lot of families on the hook for $15k to $20k just to buy basic "bronze" health insurance plans.. No telling who much the silver, gold and platinum packages will cost.

It is a complex problem and out of control spending with out adherence to a budget is a huge problem... Senate has not passed a budget in over three years now..... There is no blueprint to get our nation out of trouble!!

Slashing corporate welfare would be a big help...

reply to post by xedocodex


Hehe, I didn't even see the derailment. Higher incomes would mean more money floating around in the economy instead of offshore. Taxes could probably even be lowered since more people would be paying sales tax, property tax, Social Security, Medicare etc... as well as less drain on tax dollars through entitlement because people wouldn't need them.

More jobs, higher wages.

reply to post by jibeho

I agree with you regarding average household income but hidden taxes, surcharges etc etc suck that dry, cost of living is increasing and wages are stagnant, fuel costs are increasing, and just wait until Obamacare kicks in leaving a lot of families on the hook for $15k to $20k just to buy basic "bronze" health insurance plans.. No telling who much the silver, gold and platinum packages will cost.

Taxes, surcharges, cost of living, and fuel costs have nothing to do with household income levels. Yes, all of those hurt middle/lower class families...but their income levels are not low because of these things.

Their income levels are low because corporations have stopped sharing their profits with their employees by increasing wages, instead they are slaves to shareholders and paying them instead of their employees.

You know what would help with that....UNIONS...but I know you don't support those.

And give it up on the example numbers the IRS used to demonstrate how the penalties would be calculated. There are currently no State exchanges set up and running...please tell me how you think they calculated an "average" price when the system isn't in place yet??? I know it is pointless talking to you about this, you have latched on to these false numbers like all Right Winger talk show hosts have and you seem to parrot just about everything they say...so all I can say is just wait and see, and then please recognize that you and the Right Wingers were wrong about yet another thing.

Raising the Household Income is, actually, quite simple.

Invest in the Infrastructure.

Roads, Bridges, The Electrical Grid all need fixing, rebuilding.

Make sure the construction contracts are not given to foreign companies and the aggregates are not imported. This will have a direct and snowball effect on employment. With more people employed the pool of un and under employed would be smaller. This would mean companies would have to offer higher wages to get people to work for them.

Less people on welfare would mean it wouldn't have to be cut.

Then when everybody is happily employed with a living wage and the deficit has been reduced due to a broader Tax base, we can begin to cut Taxes. Probably towards the end of Hillary's first term.

Originally posted by BritofTexas
Raising the Household Income is, actually, quite simple.

Invest in the Infrastructure.

Roads, Bridges, The Electrical Grid all need fixing, rebuilding.

Make sure the construction contracts are not given to foreign companies and the aggregates are not imported. This will have a direct and snowball effect on employment. With more people employed the pool of un and under employed would be smaller. This would mean companies would have to offer higher wages to get people to work for them.

Less people on welfare would mean it wouldn't have to be cut.

Then when everybody is happily employed with a living wage and the deficit has been reduced due to a broader Tax base, we can begin to cut Taxes. Probably towards the end of Hillary's first term.

We've been doing the Roads bridges and schools thing for about 5 years now and its getting worse.

Cut everything 50% now, take the hit, it will hurt but america will live on. Or, keep it as it is and lose EVERYTHING in a matter of a few years when the county collapses.

Oh lordy!

Sure! Raise incomes! So when unsubstainable debt causes "The" crash, we can all look around and stare at each other from our nice cars!

Again, the patient is on the table, the patient is dying. And you folks want to talk about a better exercise program for the patient!

reply to post by beezzer


no, Grasshopper...."austerity" is just a buzzword for starving the poor and further enriching the rich...."entitlements" is the word used to vilify us for taking our hard earned and paltry social security.....seems you are either a troll or you have drunk the koolaid.....America is supposed to be the greatest country on earth....so, how could that be if 40% of our children and 60% of our elderly are wondering where their next meal will come from???....and, God forbid any one of those tens of millions gets sick....no healthcare for them???....You are part of the growing "cruel party"....who have listened to the baloney being spewed by the press and the rich buggers who own it....shame on you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

reply to post by Kali74


i have to agree with you 100 percent,they block every thing making most people dependent on a dam employment of a major corporation. and i do believe that our military is another huge blood sucking leech,no ofence to our soldiers,but it is so.in a world of colonizing and bringing back the resources and sustaining military would work.but for peace in the world? add on to the expensives of wars,the money vested to rebuild such war zones. yes some usa private companys go in(leeches) but it does nothing to our economy. and if it does,we should be on top then with all the peace we spreading out.