You can just see in his expressions that AXELROD knows what he is touting is incrediable bullshit and he is shocked to have someone call him out on it. Next thing you know the big O and David will ONLY appear on FIX NEWS!!

Full SS at age 60 paid for by no cap on earnings pay in and by having cap gains and dividends count as full FICA contributors. Income from investments pay in on SS and Medicare and we have enough money for full retirement at age 60 (opening up millions of jobs for the young) and full Medicare for all (as long as medicare able to cut medicare D and negotiate reduced costs on drug benefits as it should).

Now this is an OBAMA appointment that richly deserves to fail. Dems should not kiss Obamas butt when he plays corporatist stooge and reject this POS pick….

cwalt-ain’t that the sad truth.

Was shocked Bernie voted for it-probably the exuse will be unemployment extension. Hopefully when the cavalry rides in we start to hold firm.

The markets were totally reacting to the idea that cap gains would be taxed properly and if we had gone off the curb the repugnuts would have negotiated anything away to keep that from reverting to full rate. Could have gotten it easly to 25-30% with cap off social security earning and cap. gains and dividends COUNTED for SS if the Dems only had a pair. But alas we know that there are no balls in the democratic party. Funny but the first real set might come forward from a pair of women coming in-LIZ WARREN abd TAMMY BALDWIN. Its time the DEMS had a real agenda and pursued it. You know, a democratic wing of the democratic party so to speak. If we don’t it will come to violence in the streets on a wide scale. My take–in 10 years either the Repug party is a footnote in history or we will be living under a dictatorship (more than we are now).

The big ripoff was not whether the cut off was 250k or 400k (my take was it should have been 100k) but the totally screwing the American people got by Wall Street again where cap gains and dividends were only raised from 15% to 20% where if we went off the clif it would have reverted to regular income rates meaning the top enders would have paid 39.6% on capital gains and dividends with little to hide it which would have resulted in TRILLIONS of additional revenue. Yet lamestream hardly mentions it. All along keeping this little wealth separator was the KEY to averting the fiscal bunny slope. Got to kep Romney and the boys at that under 20% overall rate after all.. All else was window dressing…..

By the way as always there would be NO cap on Fica contributions in this plan so if a hedge fund manager happened to make 5 billion one year we at least have the satisfaction of knowing that that wealth prson is contributing 500 million to the safety net that year. If Exxon has 100 billion in revenue they are also throwing in 10 billion to the new FICA. The revenue going to quality needs in the US would go up almost geometrically and yet business might not be so dead set against it since they no longer have to match FICA or have any responsibility for Medical coverage for employees equalizing them to any other business in the rest of the world which long ago abandned anything as archaeic as emplyer based health are systems.

With a fully funded Social safety net (ie Social security with full retirement at 62, Medicare for all and free education) do we really care if the rest of the federal giv. somewhat withers away—ie military industrial complex and if it doesn’t wither that at least the ultra wealthy pay most of that burden?

kbki-YOU misinterpet. When we pay into FICA it is not on an after deduction basis it is on a % of total paycheck. What I propose is the same for business. Instead of matching employee share of FICA like they do now I say we no longer make business’s resp[onsible for any matching fund on Fica and they no longer have any rponsibility whatsoever on health care (employer provided or not). What they do pay in is the same 10% us wage slaves pay in on the TOTAL REVENUE of the company. Many if not most corps don’t pay diddley in taxes now (GE not paid a penny in in a decade) so what we do is relieve them of FICA share and health insureance BUT thye also lose10% ot heir total revenue right off the top. Yes semi revolutionary but I think presented right it just might have legs. Those business who refuse to pay in are then labeled foreighn business interests and all goods sold in the US would get with a 25% Tarriff. In other words busines pays their SOCIAL weight in America or are treated as a tariffable commodity. Stops all the deduction bullshit as corps need to show true revenue to keep lofty stock prices….This is a reality answer to one of our biggest problems-how to get corps to pay their fair share….

Boo-would love to see more conversation of true changes in taxation poicy that actually benefit someone besides the top 2%. We have plenty of money (revenue) in this country but it continuely seems to flow to the least productive areas. Maybe we should actually have a counter plan to Repugnut crap and push that agenda.

As a smal business owner the idea that I would not hire an additional person because I might have to pay an extra 3 cents out of my net revenue per dollar in is so laughable as to be idiotic as one example of time worn concepts whose demise is richly deserved..

Kbki-what planet you from? A flat 10% of all revenue both income from work and money at work and 10% of all business revenue is the MOST progressive thing taxation mechanism ever mentioned on FDL. Most tue progressives get it that what we want out of government in health care, education and basic work retirement security. Not saying that Medicare for all would be end all be all but rather a solid base for ALL Americans.

Using words like “flat” in taxation talks take the Rovian wordplay and using it for PROGRESSIVE intentions. Its about time that progressives lay out SOLID going forward concepts like this instead of reacting to right wing talking points. Me thinks you protest too much……

My solution?

Put education into the FICA tax and then tax all income be it from work or from cap gains or dividends at a steady 10% rate. All business’s based in US and paying US taxes also pay not a matching amount to their emploees but also pay a flat 10% into the new Fica. No cut off point so all revenue created in the US is taxed at a flat 10% be it busines income or worker income. The result? Why easily free education thru college for all (if maintain a decent grade point) full retirement at 62 for all and at the least a base Medicare for all. If you want a supllimental or catastrophic health care suppliment by all means go for it.

What happens? Business no longer has to provide employee health care, the bigest costs of Medical care (the overblown middle man health insurance companies) are gone, older people retire earlier making room for more jobs for younger people and we get an educated population. Any local corporation who suddenly becomes transnational as far as taxes are allowed o but they like all other foreign companies who do not provide fica income for the US national good are immediately and permanently hit with a 25% tarrif on all goods sold in the US.

Medicare for all, social ecurity with full retirement at age 62 and a tremendously educated labor force with a big push for homegrown industry to counter and prevent a 25% tariff and we are on our way to a truely GREAT society. Only thiong to add is a minimum wage of $15 per hour so wipe out poverty and create a huge tax base.

By the way if SS, Medicare and Education are funded thru FICA then you can literally let a lot of the rest of government somewhat wither away like the teaparty wet dream. Maybe a 5% fed tax on income from 0-100k, 10% rate from 100-200k, 15% rate from 200-400k, 20% rate from 400-800k and 25% rate on all income over 800k. Most people would pay a combined FICA abd FED tax rate of a TOTAL of 15% with even the top income people paying only at a 35% rate. The difference is all income is counted as regular income and the first 10% of all income goes to FICA.

Rejuvenated economy, full retirement at 62, medicare for all, free education to all who put effort in thru college, and average full tax rate LOWER for 95% of the population—WHATS NOT TO LIKE??? Maybe we start getting a few progressives to actually start pushing an agenda like this that actually provides SOLUTIONS!!!!

My “isn’t it Ironic” fantasy has always been that every concealed carry and “stand your ground” advocate in the US all happen to meet in groups of 2 at every streetcorner in America at high noon one day soon and each sees the others weapon and begin blazing away at each other until we have the sublime treat of “no man left standing” in each occurence. Kind of a classic Social Darwinism in action approach.

Its sad but what it will take is a deranged killer not focusing on school kids but maybe targeting more specific groups say the top brass of the NRA itself or maybe the heads of the Republican caucus before theses same idiots quit spouting about the guns don’t kill people crap. Have thought for a long time that a lot of the elite in this country seem to feel immune from any repercusions to some of the things they do that so dramtically effect the majority of Americans including fighting tooth and nail even minor gun control initiatives. At some point that feeling of immunity is going to be shattered and only then might real change take place. Do not believe in violence as an answer in any way shape or form but am simply stating that that result is almost inevitiable in an ever increasingly violent America. Have always thought the quickest way to have radical gun control and concealed carry laws enacted in these United States is to have ever left group imaginable arm themselves to the teeth and make a habit of attending every tea party rally or as is allowed in some places like Wisconsin actually attending assembly meetings armed.

Unfortunately its always the innocent who are getting hurt now.

By the way if McCain really was a true patriot he would die tommorrow “for the good of the country”

Key to making John McCain’s pointy little head explode?

Have Rice immediately set up residency requirements inMassachusetts and when Kerry gets named SOS make sure that Susan is named the interim replacement in the Senate for Kerry including Rice being on all of kerry’s plumb committees.

McCain would blow a gasket which would almost be as fun as watching KKK Rove blow a gasket on Fox on election night. “But wait we rigged the voting machines in Ohio!!! This is not possible!!!”

Have long thought that NO ONE should be on unemployment for more than 16 weeks (4 months). Sound very conservative doesn’t it? But its not because on the 17th week you have choice of working for the gov. (CCC WPA type projects in every federal district or finding your own way. The kicker? YThe wages paid would be 150% of your unemployment check or $15 per hour which ever is better. People don’t get off unemployment because it only makes economic sense to stay on the dole so to speak at say $250 per week instead of taking that Walmart job at $8.25 an hour $330 per week before taxes. If you took Walmart job then ne tdifference is only 330-250 or $80 ($2 per hour) and that is BEFORE the tax bite. No one in their right mind goes for that deal.

Start paying a real wage and our unemployment problem goes away and it has to start with government. Its not like $15 is so pie in sky as that only works out to $31,200 per year but propose it and watch REPUBS shit themselves.

Next apply same theory to welfare and we end up with only people on welfare with true mental or physical handicaps. If peopl who are physically able to work but refuse to (that hypothetical taker group) then they are left to fend for themselves.

The safety net is there to help those who have been displaced by our economic system not be the catch all end all as stated by the right. We might make real moves in real wages if we plae and promote ideas like above as a way to get rid of welfare. The right might run to it and unwitingly help increase real wages to something above subsistence pay.

bk

Myself-I don’t have any problem whatsoever if 50% of my income goes to taxes as long as I have birth to death health care coverage, can retire at full benefit at age 62, and have free education if I maintained an adequate GPA thru collegiate level. Think both employee and employer share of FICA should go up to 10% or maybe even 15% each with no cap and with Dividends and capital gains counted as ordinary income for FICA purposes and once that is done, frankly scarlet I don’t give a damn if not one penny more goes to the feds. Who gets hurt with that concept? Well almost no one except the military industrial complex and corporate welfare.

Business should want Medicare for all to free themselves up to compete globally like every other business in the civilized world already has. You want to eliminate deficits is easy also–raise minimum wage to $15 per hour and you have a huge new base of tax payers. Why in the world do we allow asholes like the Walmart family to pay subservient wages when 60% of their employees also either get food stamps, Medicaid or other forms of government help. Why are we as taxpayers subsidizing Walmart profits?? bang the drum-maybe a little truth will eak out once and awhile.

Different world now as all the pressure is on the REPUGS plus Obama not in re-election mode and might just want to have a few positives as his legacy. Hate to be too Missy Merry Sunberryish but maybe just maybe we get a little progressive ATTITUDE from our middle of the road President. Maybe he wanted to survive (literally) the first term and now re-elected he feels some weight of history available to him. Damn wouldn’t that be nice…

Why are we talking about any negotiations period? Lets go to the new congress the one which will have restrictions on the filibuster. LET ALL THE TAX CUTS expire period. Next year January Obama can push for a middle class tax cut and dare the Repugs not to vote for it with heavy press declaring if they don’t pass it then throw the bums out in the midterms. As far as cap gains and dividends let all of that not only expire but have it all count as regular income with top rate of 39.6% (that will get Wall Street panties in a bunch you can bet the house on that). As far as sequester cuts don’t they mainly fall on deense? By all means I call 600 billion in cutes to defense……. a START!!

Then go backwards for every 100 billion reduction in cut for defense add 100 billion to Unemploy comp or infrastructure build. If we don’t want cpa gains to go to full regular income rates for every 5 points off that then add things we want –like cap off social security tax and SS tax on all income including cap gains and dividends. Its a given that the REPUGS would do or sign anything not to lose cap gains and dividends special status so quit worrying about the little things and go after their jugular!! Thats where all the money is….

The DEMS have all the chips and aces in the hole so of course we on the left are assuming they will fold. Maybe, for once, DEm leadership could have a set and do the RIGHT THING.