I work for a company that is in this business. We operate out of CA and handle foreclosed properties all over the country. I handle Florida… Which is a ton. You just can’t believe how bad some of these properties are. Some of them have 25 feet high grass and properties that haven’t been maintained in years.

The problem is taxpayers pay for stuff that doesn’t need to be done. For example, we get Sent to foreclosed apartments which are maintained by the apartment complex. We will never cut these properties but, because the bank is getting money from the federal government to “maintain” these properties they continue to send them to us over and over. So we get a contractor out to get a few photos showing it’s an apartment, pay him, we get paid, the bank gets paid… And then two weeks later we get the same order over to go do it all over again. Such a waste.

Yeah, I’m sure that adult who had 100 pounds on the kid really feared for his life. Feared for his life so much that he got out of his car and followed him away from the street in order to be attacked by the kid.

A troll by any other name…

Race aside, only an idiot would think this murder of an unarmed kid was justified. No matter what the circumstance.

Wait… There’s hamburgers? Don’t tease me.

I had to re-read your comment a couple times. I couldn’t believe someone called Ed Shultz and Lawrence O’ progressives. Low standards huh?

Lowering tax rates just give the ultra rich incentive to pull money out of the business and gamble it on wall street… and here we are.

Higher tax rates gives them incentive to reinvest that money into business so they lower their taxes.

Seems pretty simple to me

But of course… ;0)

Exactly. It baffles my mind how on every issues facing this country you only need to look at our history to know what to do and what not to do. Yet we never learn and conintue to make the same mistakes. You can look back and always the longest periods of sustained economic growth in this country were when the top marginal tax rates were well over where they are now. But yet we continue to try and lower them. To what end?

Bring on the revolution

If only they had the ability to freeze all trading on Wall Street. Even for a couple days this would cost the big leaches billions. Just a pipe dream tho.

Not to mention Prop 13 is in desperate need of patching all the loopholes that are exploited by corporations when they are transfering properties.

Well, if you came here more often you would know the answer to that.

ok so refusing to vote for the lesser of two-evils won’t neccessarily move us towards more progressivism… “it’s not going to change the reality” as you say. How does continuing to vote for the lesser of two evils change our reality? It doesn’t because we have been doing that for decades and things just continue to get worse. So, basically you’re saying that we are screwed no matter what we do? And, we should just sit back and accept it because only time is going to change anything? (Putting local politics aside because as you said your area hasn’t seen many progressives at that level but, my area has. So, it’s kind of a wash.)

I pick:
D)All of the Above

that just makes no sense. We are definitely getting into 1984 territory here… more each day it seems. How do you “petition the government for redress of greivances” without actually being able to petition the government officials for redress of greivances?

So principles be damned… just vote Democrat! Is that what you’re trying to say? Maybe we need more Rebuplicans/DINOs in office so things CAN get worse so more people will actually wake up? Basically, what you are advocating for as a solution is insanity… It’s the same thing we’ve been doing for decades and you expect a different result? You don’t think progressives have been active at the local levels and building for the long haul? I disagree. I’ve seen many local progressives in my lifetime… who get elected and then are almost immediately co-opted by the status quo/big money. Don’t you see that that strategy works for conservatives BECAUSE big money is already on their side. The don’t get co-opted because they are the ones doing the co-opting in the first place.

I read what you’re saying… but, it just CAN’T be true! According to Obama they are the most transparent administration in the history of the world!

That’s a good analogy for where I was coming from. Like said, been coming here for years and I’ve seen the commenters who are always pleading to endorse candidates, etc… and, I was pretty much in-line with the thinking that it’s about issues not candidates and it’s not up to a blogg to endorse a candidate etc etc. But, I think as things have continued to decline… we NEED a step 2. I follow the OWS and Jane and Rocky and get as much info as I can on Jill. So, I definitely feel informed. My questions was more for the average voter. Whenever I send my friends links to this website most always come back with, “oh all i see there is complaining. They don’t like Obama, they don’t like Democrats, they don’t like Republicans. Just seems like a bunch of whiners.” Which is definitely not true but, I can see where they are comming from. I just feel we need to saturate the candidates we “endorse” Not just an article here or there that aren’t front paged. But, instead instantly when you come to the site there is tons of information and links and articles for progressive candidates.

Like I said, It’s probably just a ranting Monday for me. I just need some “hope”. Not empty Barack hope but real hope. It’s depressing to think that things need to get even worse before they get better. How much worse?When does it get to the point where it stops getting worse and starts getting better?