For you Socialist out there look around the world and see how well it is working there. I have been around the world myself and talked with plenty of people from Germany and France to name 2. They all say the same thing. Taxes and socialism lead to non-productivity. The government never delivers what is promised and they are taxed through the roof. Wake-up and smell the coffee here.

I say flat tax across the board at 15% for everyone that makes over 60k and everyone else is exempt. This is working great in other countries that lived under soviet occupation and communism (which is just another word for socialism) they are booming.

Just because I’m not miserly with my money, and just because I don’t think the wealthy deserve special treatment, doesn’t mean I hate wealthy people. But I do feel that wealthy people should feel an obligation to help others.

Also, continually calling people who disagree with you “stupid” is not conducive to a civil exchange of ideas. You evidently presume that I must be intellectually challenged, and “poor”, because I favor helping people who need it over financing a war and providing government subsidies to profitable corporations through socialized capitalism.

In fact, I am neither stupid nor poor.

But drilling here isn’t the answer, either. It would cost billions and take 7-10 years to get additional oil through drilling. In that time, we could spend the billions and the 7-10 years using American innovation (and creating newer and safer jobs) to build on technology that already exists in renewables (H cell, solar, etc.). The money and time would be better spent that way. There is no immediate fix to energy prices. We can spend the next 7-10 years innovating and moving our energy into the 21st century, or we can spend it drilling oil wells here in the US, and face this problem again because we’re stuck in the past.

Also, investors aren’t really shying away from investing. Savvy investors know this is the time to buy the right kinds of stocks. A 20% capital gains tax for the wealthiest (rather than 15%) isn’t going to stop any of the serious investors from investing. They’re still making plenty of money, and the benefits of making that money always outweigh slightly higher taxes.

Strive to be wealthy, not to be jealous of the rich. To start with:

Hone you talent.
Have your children sacrifice by studying hard, like the Chinese and Japanese do.
Be wise in spending.
Invest and be wise in investment.
Be competitive. Don’t allow others to steal your own money.
Tell your children to invest, and not just rely on cheap labor and employment.

1. His eyes are focused on the billions of profits by the oil companies.

2. Oil companies are public corporations and multi-nationals. Profits are distributed to stockholders. Being publicly-held, the profits go to ordinary people like you and me who buys stocks because of our disposable income.

3. Taxing oil companies of their profits means taxing stocks in the Stock Market, which is now currently in bad shape.

4. Bad shape of the stock market is more of “perception”. If you all Americans shout that economy is failing as a whole, the whole stock market will fall. Those holding stocks will immediate cash out their stocks into currency.

5. Obama, shown by his socialist policy, is geared on the “absolute profit”. Doesn’t he know that oil infrastructure requires huge, huge investments, from drilling down to financing a gas station?

6. Compute the “Internal Rate of Return” of these American oil companies (may be estimated by profits/investments). They are not exceed ing 10%). Better if they just invest their money in Treasury Bills and let America use water instead of oil.

7. These companies are suffering too. Because of his rhetorics, some of these companies are now planning to undertake “layoffs”.

8. Now who is profiting from oil? Definitely those countries who have oil, stupid. Have you heard of Exxon’s financial problem when Venesuela grabbed its entire investments. That would not happen if Democrats allow oil drilling.

9. You want renewables, fine. Stop using cars and automobiles. Tell that to Obama.

10. Ethanol in Illinois? Tell Obama that’s the major cause of higher prices in meat and other staples with corn and soybeans as inputs of production.

11. Because of these Taxes,,,,,many investors are shying away. That’s why no additional jobs.

12. Current low level of employment? Tell Obama to stop his “black” friends like that Sharpton to blackmail business and employers that if they do not hire as many blacks as white, despite capability, they would harass the company by picketing and boycotting.

13. Low Employment again? What do you expect. America is now becoming Germany and France… too radical trade union that’s why poor productivity. Ask Obama not to accept endorsement of AFL-CIO. Can he? AFL-CIO is an affiliate of Democratic Socialist of America, whose Chicago branch is the reason why he is a Senator now.

In conclusion,….., Your Obama is bad to the economy and personal finance.

At any rate, I agree that credit standards need to be tightened, and that not every should have access to mortgage loans if they can’t make payments.

But what really gave people access was the re-regulation and monetary loosening in the 80s and early 90s (hmmm…while Republicans were in office) that allowed banks to lend to whomever they wanted, by charging higher interest rates (subprime loans). And then sell the debt to someone else as an investment. That and the introduction of loan products designed to lure borrowers into spending more and creatively financing.

While borrowers should certainly be held accountable for their decisions, lenders and investors are not immune from blame as well.

Does the financing you refer to include cutting money to things like education and infrastructure? Or maybe getting the financing by taxing the middle class even more? Or “wise investments”? At any rate, “Defense” spending on war and outfitting other nations’ militaries takes a rather large chunk of the budget. I’d rather finance social programs at home than war abroad.

The best way for an American is to cash out his money (a disposable income, taxable if using a parallel with Obama’s taxing of oil company’s profits) and move to other countries, say Canada.

Tell your Obama to change his wrong mindset, knowing you’ll vote for him despite of his socialist economic policies. To do that, try to separate your President from his socialist advisors especially those socialists in Hyde Park Chicago.

Deficit is to be paid by tax as indicated by Obama. Immediately paying for deficit through tax will hurt the people more.

The status quo: To shield the people of taxes during the socalled War in Iraq, Bush Administeration technically loaned for it. It shielded the people of taxes. That’s what third world countries do how they cope up with loans from first world country. This means, Bush economic policy, is still better.

The sub-prime market fiasco, should not be included. Besides those greedy and false middleman, the main problem is the lack of “creditworthiness” of the buyers, which was exacerbated by many court orders forcing banks to provide loans to non-American and “poor” people. There were many lawyers in the 1990s and up to 2003 suing banks because of so called “racial discrimination” and “anti-poor” policies, undermining creditworthiness. You know what, Obama is one of them such as the case of Citibank which he won for a group of black families.

In addition, Obama has a different form of war. Global Poverty Act… which he has already tied to tax increases.

This indicates his lack of experience in economic budgeting. There are other government earnings which can finance programs including costs incurred in Iraq War.

This is the problem. We try to justify poor economic policy of Barack Obama by his own rhetorics.

Think again.

At any rate, most people don’t think that the government should do everything. But David seems to be saying that the government should at least put its own people first and help its own people before rushing off to spend billions and billions in another country — especially with such dubious results.