Unsettled Economy & The Bailout

[Frankie's Market]

Re: Unsettled Economy & The Bailout

like it or not, yachts, vacation homes, extravagant parties, private jets, etc. all equal jobs. the wealthy pay the lions share of taxes and provide the lions share of jobs in our country. when they outsource they contribute to tax bases elsewhere and put food on the table of people that are not american.

Are you serious? I guess so,....

Here's the problem with that thinking: Irresponsible and wasteful spending benefits a few people. As you say, a byproduct of lavish partying and private jets is that it does create jobs. But this kind of irresponsible spending is not sustainable over the long haul.

Stop and think about it for a moment: The housing bubble, while it was booming, benefitted construction workers as it created many jobs and opportunities in the short run. But it was unsustainable over the long term. And when the bubble burst, it has led to our present day crisis that we now find ourselves in.

I think this attitude of "any kind of spending is okay as long as it creates jobs and benefits somebody" is exactly what we DON'T need. Whether it be on Wall Street, Main Street, government,..... and yes, even people's own personal finances.

[escondido100]

Re: Unsettled Economy & The Bailout

personal responsibility. those workers that saved their money and did not live beyond their means and fall prey to predatory lending practices are doing just fine ,thank-you. who would bail me out?

[matapule]

Re: Unsettled Economy & The Bailout

The cost of the government keeping the Big Three afloat would surely be more mandates for politically correct “green” cars. Holman Jenkins of The Wall Street Journal has pointed out the damage of already-existing mandates: “The Detroit Three have been effectively required to build small cars in high-wage, UAW factories, though it means losing money on every car.” If the Big Three have been inefficient until now, just wait until the Sierra Club is in charge.

WRONG, National Review. Detroit has not produced any real "green cars" at this point. And most cars they do produce suck compared with cars produced by foreign automakers (many of which are manufactured in the good ol' USA at a profit).

The Honda Civic Hybrid and Toyota Prius are the first generation of green cars, they are profitable, and they are hughly popular. The Sierra Club could not posssibly do any worse than the Big Three management has done over the last 60 years.

the wealthy pay the lions share of taxes and provide the lions share of jobs in our country.

That statement is so full of unsubstantiated nonsense, I don't where to begin. But for starters, the wealthy do not pay the lions share of taxes. People earning under $100K per year pay the lions share of taxes. Go to the IRS website and check your facts. Small businesses owned by people earning less than $250K per year provide the lions share of jobs in the country.

In kona, if it were not for the wealthy we would all be farming or fishing or starving, honorable trades, but i'm just saying.

Where are the wealthy now when people are losing their jobs? You're going to find more and more people fishing and farming just to put food on the table as we get deeper into this recession.

[matapule]

Re: Unsettled Economy & The Bailout

personal responsibility. those workers that saved their money and did not live beyond their means and fall prey to predatory lending practices are doing just fine

I agree. But not only "workers" benefited, people earning over $250K benefited by living a conservative lifestyle. You might enjoy reading the book, The Millionaire Next Door.

[Vanguard]

Re: Unsettled Economy & The Bailout

bail-out is the biggest bank heist ever

[LocalMotion]

Re: Unsettled Economy & The Bailout

WRONG, National Review. Detroit has not produced any real "green cars" at this point. And most cars they do produce suck compared with cars produced by foreign automakers (many of which are manufactured in the good ol' USA at a profit).

The Honda Civic Hybrid and Toyota Prius are the first generation of green cars, they are profitable, and they are hughly popular. The Sierra Club could not posssibly do any worse than the Big Three management has done over the last 60 years.

the Ford Focus and Ford Escape Hybrid are considered green and are in the top 10 on many list of "green" vehicles. I guess it depends on your definition of "green". But you are correct that most of their cars suck... The govt needs to let them file for bankruptcy so they can re-align themselves and bring their salaries back in line with something that's sustainable. Unions are going to have a hard time in these coming years.

That statement is so full of unsubstantiated nonsense, I don't where to begin. But for starters, the wealthy do not pay the lions share of taxes. People earning under $100K per year pay the lions share of taxes. Go to the IRS website and check your facts. Small businesses owned by people earning less than $250K per year provide the lions share of jobs in the country.

As you like to say. WRONG..
Based on the spreadsheet from the IRS. those earning more than $100k pay 68% of the total taxes generated.



I'd also like to see a link showing Small Biz under $250k provide over 60% of the jobs.

or what's your definition of "lions share"

[Ron Whitfield]

Re: Unsettled Economy & The Bailout

What about all the taxes that are avoided by so many companies being relocated off American- shores, not to mention all the jobs and taxes that would be collected from those potential employees?

[matapule]

Re: Unsettled Economy & The Bailout

[quote=LocalMotion;216501]the Ford Focus and Ford Escape Hybrid are considered green and are in the top 10 on many list of "green" vehicles. I guess it depends on your definition of "green".[quote]

Yes it is a relative term. But compared to a Prius, the Focus and Escape can hardly be considered "green." I looked at the Escape with something like 30 mpg under best conditions. But, at the time I looked, it would not work in the hybrid configuration if the air conditioning was on! Not very practical where I lived. Also, the owners of the Escape hybrid (on Internet chat) were not getting the mileage claimed by the mfg, much much less, a little over 20 mpg.

As you like to say. WRONG..
Based on the spreadsheet from the IRS. those earning more than $100k pay 68% of the total taxes generated.

Thank you for your interesting research. Thank you for posting the table. I was WRONG with with what I specifically said. You are correct with regards to my benchmark. I am a little behind the times with my research. I guess the definition of what is considered wealthy in the US has changed over the years.

Let me just cite this reference from Wikipedia:

The Tax Foundation has made the claim that the tax cuts signed by U.S. Presidents Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush, contrary to popular belief, actually made the U.S. tax code more progressive, not less. They state that in 1980, before Reagan's tax cuts, the richest 1% paid 19.05% of all federal income taxes, and by 1988, after Reagan's tax cuts, their share had increased to 27.58%. Likewise, in 2001, before Bush's tax cuts, the richest 1% paid 33.89% of all federal income taxes, and by 2006, after Bush's tax cuts, their share had increased to 39.89%.

[tutusue]

Re: Unsettled Economy & The Bailout

Now that the election is over, the beloved, 82 year old blogger, Helen, is waxing poetic on the economy! Her latest entry suggests that the overly profitable oil companies should bail out the auto makers. Not a bad idea...

Just don't ask her about Sarah Palin anymore!

[turtlegirl]

Re: Unsettled Economy & The Bailout

Thanks so much for telling us about Margaret and Helen's blog! I added it to my favorites and read it all the time! Great to see Helen chime in today! I love those ladies!!

[tutusue]

Re: Unsettled Economy & The Bailout

Thanks so much for telling us about Margaret and Helen's blog! I added it to my favorites and read it all the time! Great to see Helen chime in today! I love those ladies!!

Yep! I check in once a day and am always disappointed if they skip a day. Helen is priceless...and usually spot on!

[Walkoff Balk]

Re: Unsettled Economy & The Bailout

Thanks so much for telling us about Margaret and Helen's blog! I added it to my favorites and read it all the time! Great to see Helen chime in today! I love those ladies!!

Awww, they're cute when they're that age. They say the darnest things.

[Seeking Penance]

Re: Unsettled Economy & The Bailout

Thanks so much for telling us about Margaret and Helen's blog! I added it to my favorites and read it all the time! Great to see Helen chime in today! I love those ladies!!

YEAH! thanks TG!!

[Frankie's Market]

personal responsibility. those workers that saved their money and did not live beyond their means and fall prey to predatory lending practices are doing just fine ,thank-you.

They're doing fine,.....provided their employment or business is not adversely affected by the souring economy. And with the way the economy is tailspinning, the number of people and industries unaffected is quickly shrinking.

Better wake up and smell the coffee! There are lots of thrifty and financially responsible folks out there who, through no fault of their own, are now standing in the unemployment line because of this recession.

who would bail me out?

Why do you need a bailout?

[tutusue]

Re: Unsettled Economy & The Bailout

Finger-pointing begins as Senate nixes auto vote
Dow slips below 8,000 on growing fear of deflation

And, now for the bad news...