The Constitution of The United States

[Guest]

After reading some of the "comments" by those of you that think you know what you are talking about, have any of you ever really read the Constitution of the United States and all its Amendments.

I don't think that the vast majority of our elected officials have even heard of this document let alone read it.

Let's take a pole and see how many of you have read the Constitution and under stand States Rights and your Personal Rights that are granted by this document. What it acutally says the US Government (The Federal Government) can and can not do.

I have and the majority of the things that the US Government does are not in accordance with the Constitution yet we don't have one elected offical that will take a stand and enforce the provisions of this document.

[Guest]

I have read it and couldn't agree more with you. I think part of the problem might be that for the last 30+years schools have been too busy teaching diversity, tolerance, environmentalism, situational ethics, sex education, etc,etc,etc instead of Reading, Writing, Math, Science, History and American Government. When I went to high school, way back in 1970ish, we read and studied the Declaration Of Independence and the Constitution. It was an entire year of study on the history of USA and how the government works, complete with the rights of states and reasons for those rights. Most of what my grown children have learned about our government, they learned from their Mom and Dad. Alot of kids from their generation and younger dont even know how to read, let alone read these important documents.
I have to agree with you. It is evident when we hear people like Ms. Pelosi saying ridiculous things (with great authority) like "We have to pass the bill, so that you can then find out what's in it"...

[Guest]

I've read it. I'm certainly not a Constitutional scholar, but it isn't that difficult to decipher. And, Katz, I don't think knowing the Constitution will help Pelosi. She isn't stupid. Her thinking just leans toward the Progressive agenda.

[Guest]

I agree with you, Figmo. But the states rights train left the station a long, long time ago. Basically, the country couldn't run on the basis of the words written by the framers of the Constitution. The states have willingly become almost totally dependent on money and services provided by the federal government. To try to go back now is impossible, regardless of what the Constitution says.

[Guest]

Never say never, VK.

[Guest]

VK, that is BS for sure. Once the states take back the things that they are suppost to be doing and stop taking hand outs from the Feds, taxes will go down, and education will go up. Each state has enough money and resources to do what the constitution gives them the right to do. Get rid of all the illegal Departments, IE., education, health and welfare, etc., and the states will do just fine.

[Guest]

Figmo -

What makes the cabinet posts illegal? I have not heard you braying about President Obama's citizenship status lately. Have you given up on that and taken to calling certain (or all) cabinet posts illegal?

If states stop taking Federal money, how will taxes go down? In Florida, there is NO state income tax. The property taxes are pretty low. Sales tax in Florida is not too bad. Will my property and sales taxes here in Florida go down if Florida does not take Federal money? Precisely how is that possible?

Florida is one of the poorest education systems in the US. How would education levels increase if there were no Federal education money coming in and my property taxes (no State income tax, remember) are lowered? Please give precise and well thought out answers to all these questions. I await them.

[Guest]

Florida is one of the poorest education systems in the US. Please give precise and well thought out answers...

Where did they rank T?

[Guest]

Florida is one of the poorest education systems in the US. How would education levels increase if there were no Federal education money coming in and my property taxes (no State income tax, remember) are lowered? Please give precise and well thought out answers to all these questions. I await them.

I thought so too, Tbugs, but check this out:

http://www.tampabay.com/news/education/k12/florida-schools-ranked-no-5-in-us-according-to-education-week/1144718

[Guest]

Tbugs - take a look at New Hampshire. We have no income tax. No sales tax. We *do* have a meals tax and a Business Profits Tax. We still survive. Oh - and we pay our legislators $150 per year, plus some expenses for actually GETTING to Concord if they live far away. We don't have the problem of professional politicians. We DO have the occasional problem of INCOMPETENT politicians, but elections usually take care of that.

[Guest]

somewhere in Montana?

[Guest]

I stand corrected for the Florida education rank - and I thank Island Gal for her polite correction instead of BKCunningham's snotty reply. We can certainly do without that snotty attitude on this forum. If a correction is called for, cite the correction and put it in your post in a responsible way like Island Gal did.

As far as DPlong's statement about New Hampshire doing quite well with no income tax nor sales tax - good for you. I was referring to Figmo's statement of states not taking any money from the Federal government and the states could survive, flourish, and even lower taxes while improving education. Do you honestly think that could be done? How soon would New Hampshire (or Florida) have to start a state income tax for more revenue or a state sales tax for New Hampshire if there was no Federal money coming to the states?

It does sound as though Figmo lives in a Montana militia compound doesnt it? Actually, he is from New Mexico and is so paranoid about drug couriers so he packs "heat" whenever he leaves his house.

[Guest]

Where did they rank T?


If you think that is "snotty" bugs, you aren't playing enough golf. Relax. Enjoy yourself. Breath in. Breath out.

[Guest]

No, you are just a snotty person. Do not bother to reply to my posts anymore.

[Guest]

Tbugs - take a look at New Hampshire. We have no income tax. No sales tax. We *do* have a meals tax and a Business Profits Tax. We still survive. Oh - and we pay our legislators $150 per year, plus some expenses for actually GETTING to Concord if they live far away. We don't have the problem of professional politicians. We DO have the occasional problem of INCOMPETENT politicians, but elections usually take care of that.

hence Live Free or Die! Maybe I will be checking out New Hampshire for retirement then.

[Guest]

Never say never, VK.

:BigApplause:

[Guest]

...Each state has enough money and resources to do what the constitution gives them the right to do....It might be a good idea to check the current status of the budgets of the states, particulalrly the big states like California, Illinois, Florida and New York.

In fiscal year 2012 some 42 states and the District of Columbia are working to close $103 billion in budget shortfalls. These spending gaps come on top of the large shortfalls the states faced in fiscal years 2009 through 2011. States will continue to struggle to find the revenue needed to support critical public services like education, health care, and human services for a number of years to come.

As I said, the big states have the worst problems. Here's a list of the states with the biggest budget gaps in 2012 and the percentage of their budgets that the revenue shortfall represents.

California 27.2%
Illinois 16.0
Louisiana 19.4
Minnesota 20.3
Nevada 37.4
New Jersey 36.0
New York 17.6
Oregon 25.5
Texas 20.5

All states avg. 15.5%

Only eight states have achieved a balanced budget in 2012...Alaska, Hawaii, Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, Arkansas, West Virginia and Indiana.

No, I disagree with you Figmo. The states won't be voluntarily giving up their grants from the federal government anytime soon. It hasn't happened overnight, but the states are heavily dependent on the federal government for the funding of all kinds of projects and uses which they feel important. You can research the lists yourself, but one that will be getting a lot of conversation in coming weeks is the federal funding of Medicaid. The feds are making noises like they intend to make the care of the elderly and indigent the responsibility of the states. The states can't come close to affording to pay for the care of all their residents who have no funds to care for themselves. Talk about "killing grandma"!

No, Figmo, the states rights train has left the station...a long time ago. Listen closely how much Rick Perry has to say about abandoning federal funding for Texas. He runs a state with a 20.5% budget shortfall. Maybe that was what was behind his idea that Texas should secede from the union, keeping all the taxes they send to Washington and paying their own way. Lots of problems with that idea, one being who's going to pay for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and who's going to pay for Medicare and Social Security?

[Guest]

hence Live Free or Die! Maybe I will be checking out New Hampshire for retirement then....As far as DPlong's statement about New Hampshire doing quite well with no income tax nor sales tax - good for you. I was referring to Figmo's statement of states not taking any money from the Federal government and the states could survive, flourish, and even lower taxes while improving education. Do you honestly think that could be done? How soon would New Hampshire (or Florida) have to start a state income tax for more revenue or a state sales tax for New Hampshire if there was no Federal money coming to the states?....
Is that the same New Hampshire with the 18.4% budget shortfall? I'm guessing the "live free or die" state will take all the money it can get from the feds.

[Guest]

VK - How are they computing that? According to the right-wing Union Leader, we're balanced - though it's kind of precarious and next year's TINY surplus depends on us selling a particular piece of excess state property.