[Stoneman]

Now I'm not an educated person, but I'm tired of all the 'us versus them' rhetoric so I did some poking around. I can't wait to see all the finger pointing. And please keep in mind, I'm neither 'them' nor 'us' - I pretty much avoid the whole EITHER dem or repub thing as I think the two-party system the country's grown into to is virtually what's destroyed US politics and gov't. This is just some shit I found on other sites...

In 2006 when the republicans held congress we had...

1) Consumer confidence stood at a 2 1/2 year high
2) Regular gasoline sold for $2.19 a gallon
3) The unemployment rate was 4.5%

Since voting in a Democratic Congress in 2006 we have seen:

1) Consumer confidence plummet
2) The cost of regular gasoline soar to over $3.50 a gallon
3) Unemployment is up to 5% (a 10% increase)
4) American households have seen $2.3 trillion in equity value evaporate
(stock and mutual fund losses)
5) Americans have seen their home equity drop by $1.2 trillion dollars
6) 1% of American homes are in foreclosure

America voted for change in 2006, and we got it!
Remember it's Congress that makes law not the President.
He has to work with what's handed to him.

Whether Democrat or a Republican you will find these statistics
enlightening and amazing.
The Tax Foundation - U.S. Federal Individual Income Tax Rates History, 1913-2008

Taxes under Clinton 1999 / Taxes under Bush 2008

Single making 30K - tax $8,400 / Single making 30K - tax $4,500
Single making 50K - tax $14,000 / Single making 50K - tax $12,500
Single making 75K - tax $23,250 / Single making 75K - tax $18,750

Married making 60K - tax $16,800 / Married making 60K- tax $9,000
Married making 75K - tax $21,000 / Married making 75K - tax $18,750
Married making 125K - tax $38,750 / Married making 125K - tax $31,250

It is amazing how many people that fall into the categories above think Bush is screwing them and Bill Clinton was the greatest President ever. If Obama or Hillary are elected, they both say they will repeal the Bush tax cuts and a good portion of the people that fall into the categories above can't wait for it to happen...

I've been constantly told how much the war in Iraq is responsible for US's economic downfall. Yet,

1. $11 Billion to $22 billion is spent on welfare to illegal aliens each
year by state governments.

2. $2.2 Billion dollars a year is spent on food assistance programs such as
food stamps, WIC, and free school lunches for illegal aliens.

3. $2.5 Billion dollars a year is spent on Medicaid for illegal aliens.

4. $12 Billion dollars a year is spent on primary and secondary school
education for children here illegally and they cannot speak a word of
English!

5. $17 Billion dollars a year is spent for education for the American-born
children of illegal aliens, known as anchor babies.

6. $3 Million Dollars a DAY is spent to incarcerate illegal aliens.

7. 30% percent of all Federal Prison inmates are illegal aliens.

8. $90 Billion Dollars a year is spent on illegal aliens for Welfare &
social services by the American taxpayers.

9. $200 Billion Dollars a year in suppressed American wages are caused by the illegal aliens.

10. The illegal aliens in the United States have a crime rate that's two and
a half times that of non-illegal aliens. In particular, their
children are going to make a huge additional crime problem in the US .

11. During the year of 2005 there were 4 to 10 MILLION illegal aliens that
crossed our Southern Border also, as many as 19,500 illegal aliens from
Terrorist Countries. Millions of pounds of drugs, cocaine, meth, heroin and
marijuana, crossed into the U. S from the Southern border.

12. The National Policy Institute, 'estimated that the total cost of mass
deportation would be between $206 and $230 billion or an average cost of
between $41 and $46 billion annually over a five year period.'

13. In 2006 illegal aliens sent home $45 BILLION in remittances back to
their countries of origin.

14. 'The Dark Side of Illegal Immigration: Nearly One Million Sex Crimes
Committed by Illegal Immigrants In The United States .

What's that? Over 300 BILLION DOLLARS a year???

And...

The annual fatalities of military members while actively serving in the armed forces:

1993=1,213 ( Clinton Year)
1994=1,075 ( Clinton Year)
1995=2,465 ( Clinton Year)
1996=2,318 ( Clinton Year)
1997= 817 ( Clinton Year)
1998=2,252 ( Clinton Year)
1999=1,984 ( Clinton Year)
2000=1,983 ( Clinton Year)
Clinton years (1993-2000): 14,000 deaths

2001= 890 (George W Year)
2002=1,007 (George W Year)
2003=1,410 (George W Year)
2004=1,887 (George W Year)
2005= 919 (George W Year)
2006= 920 (George W Year)
2007= 899 (George W Year)
George W years (2001-2006): 7,932 deaths

Just food for thought. But again, I'm not a smart man nor am I remotely edumacated. And I'm STILL trying to find the 'NONE OF THE ABOVE' box on the ballots...

[highsider]

Originally Posted by Stoneman

3) The unemployment rate was 4.5%

3) Unemployment is up to 5% (a 10% increase)
.

Somebody is not so good at math.

[ChrisNoF4i]

Originally Posted by Stoneman

And I'm STILL trying to find the 'NONE OF THE ABOVE' box on the ballots...

Ya know, you don't HAVE to pick wunner the other. You can always abstain.

Voting for President is like pressing the 'Close Door' button on an elevator. It makes you feel good, but in the end it really doesn't make a lick of difference. Remember it's Congress that makes law not the President.

[TheIglu]

Gas prices should be removed from all political discussion.

What does gas have anything to do with laws?

[dhuze]

Originally Posted by Stoneman

................. I'm STILL trying to find the 'NONE OF THE ABOVE' box on the ballots...

Write in Richard Nixon. Archie did it.

[OreoGitorio]

close enough... 10%.... 11.1%.... same thing.

[Honclfibr]

Originally Posted by TheIglu

Gas prices should be removed from all political discussion.

What does gas have anything to do with laws?

Well, the president directly appoints the chairman of the fed. Who sets the monetary policy. Which currently is to bail out wall street (not the economy) at the cost of rapidly increasing inflation. Which leads to rising oil prices (food prices, etc etc etc).

Fortunately, probably less than 1% of the voting population understands the significance of this. And those that do usually have a good deal of interest in keeping the stock market afloat...

Wait, is that fortunate?

[TheIglu]

Originally Posted by Honclfibr

Well, the president directly appoints the chairman of the fed. Who sets the monetary policy. Which currently is to bail out wall street (not the economy) at the cost of rapidly increasing inflation. Which leads to rising oil prices (food prices, etc etc etc).

Fortunately, probably less than 1% of the voting population understands the significance of this. And those that do usually have a good deal of interest in keeping the stock market afloat...

Wait, is that fortunate?

Shhh, shhhhh, just pick and choose facts to blame the democrats for everything.

[ChrisNoF4i]

Originally Posted by Stoneman

Taxes under Clinton 1999 / Taxes under Bush 2008

Single making 30K - tax $8,400 / Single making 30K - tax $4,500
Single making 50K - tax $14,000 / Single making 50K - tax $12,500
Single making 75K - tax $23,250 / Single making 75K - tax $18,750

Married making 60K - tax $16,800 / Married making 60K- tax $9,000
Married making 75K - tax $21,000 / Married making 75K - tax $18,750
Married making 125K - tax $38,750 / Married making 125K - tax $31,250

It is amazing how many people that fall into the categories above think Bush is screwing them and Bill Clinton was the greatest President ever. If Obama or Hillary are elected, they both say they will repeal the Bush tax cuts and a good portion of the people that fall into the categories above can't wait for it to happen...

These figures are shocking! Completely erroneous, but shocking nonetheless.
I don't wanna bust out my tax tables, but the figures maketh no sense.

[Honclfibr]

No need, snopes already covered this one:

snopes.com: Taxes: Clinton vs. Bush

[Stoneman]

By all means, keep the corrections coming. As I clearly pointed out, I'm 'neither', 'none of the above'. I'm not trying to blame dem's for anything, nor am I trying to point out repub's lies. Just a bunch of shit I found on a bunch of other sites...

[Benyen Soljax]

ron paul is my choice, but it is interesting to look at the national Debt between 2000 and 2008.

also go to google finance and look up GM stocks. 2000 was a different time (everything was more or less on the up and up), and its really hard to say that a political party is responsible for something as complex as an economy. influence, maybe, but not control.

[DucDave]

6 months ago I figured the dems would have to run Britney Spears in order to lose the election. 6 months later the party has managed to look like children squabbling over a toy while the Reps continue to look and behave like adults.

Forget what they ACTUALLY stand for and look at the perception. Politics are never, ever, about facts and performance. It's ALWAYS about likability and perception.

You may find Hillary or Obama likeable but the party and party leadership has blown it big time...

[-jro-]

"Remember it's Congress that makes law not the President." - yea...but he can sure veto the hell out of congress that much is certain. Checks and balances...congress may write laws but the president has got to pass them, and the judiciary gets decide if they are in fact constitutional if they ever land on their doorstep. Just saying

[enzo_f1]

VOTE FOR ME

Long live the King

[Pittenger5]

As for the number of fatalities.
U.S. Military Deaths Since 1980 - Netlore Archive

[DucDave]

This says it all....

+ YouTube Video

[RandyO]

Originally Posted by dhuze

Write in Richard Nixon. Archie did it.

he's the only candidate I have ever voted for that won the election

[Stoneman]

Noice! I do appreciate the fact finding. Keep 'em coming...

[bigred875]

Originally Posted by DucDave

This says it all....

......about you

[*GhostRide37]

seeing as this is practically copied n pasted form that "scopes" site, you might as weel read the rest of what the site says. like the part

"whoever produced this chart simply applied tax tables from 1999 and 2008 to various income amounts, apparently without understanding the difference between marginal tax rates and average tax rates and without allowing for even the standard deduction"

[ZX-12R]

[OreoGitorio]

That.... fukkin... rules

[wylee]

Originally Posted by TheIglu

Gas prices should be removed from all political discussion.

What does gas have anything to do with laws?

Big oil mergers...mergers approved by the FTC. One would have to be pretty naive to think that there is not some effect.

[richw]

90% of all politicians are scum. their political affiliations have more to do with what advantage they perceived when their ego decided to run for office.

Knut was one of the few politicians that had an ideology and you see it only took the power/money politicians a couple of years to get rid of him.

Republicans screwed the pooch and built bigger government when they were in. The democrats will do the same or worse.

YOU NEED a divided government to stop them from actually passing laws.

If you want another Reagan halcyon period of America transcendence then you will first have to suffer through Obama the black jimmy carter

Al Sharpton for Secretary of State !!

Then maybe the depression of 2011 will sweep all vestiges of Johnson's war on prosperity away. EPA OSHA etc.