Gee, half the population of the USA do not pay taxes and alot of them get money back that they didn't put in. The rich will always be rich, envy aside. Right now they are hoarding their money or investing in countries that have a more stable government. They will not invest in capital or hire workers in this climate. You want the country to hum again? Vote Republican in 2012.

You forgot alot of taxes.
 

I think you forgot about state and local taxes. Most taxpayers pay close to 50% or more.. You also forgot about social security taxes, gas taxes, sales taxes, excise taxes, taxes on electricity and gas, user taxes, etc etc.. AND the additional cost added to every product and service to pay for the taxes imposed on the business and employees that produce them.
Don't you consider any of those taxes?

Only the super wealthy get loopholes like the ones OBAMA included in his stimulus package.. liberals and collectivists always "forget" about that. They also have loopholes for all their buddies.. why do you think wallstreet contributes more to democrats than republicans?

Figmo..I, too, believe that being replaced as the world's currency is the worst thing that can happen to us. The US came out of WW2 as the strongest and richest country in the world, England was broke and in debt so the decision was made to make the USD the reserve currency replacing pound sterling

As far as be downgraded by Moody's et al.....raising the debt ceiling is like giving an addict one more fix and then they they will quit. I don't see how that can make us look financially responsible to anybody.

We have critters in DC who for decades have spent like drunken sailors.

Now, like local governments who when they run short yell that they are going to cut police and firemen....
Washington first threatens cutting social security and Medicare.....

Neither party talks of going after theft, waste, graft and fraud....or how about banning lobbyists from D.C, that might make a difference.

Anyone remember Sen Coburn's "The Bridge to nowhere" or Robert Byrd's "road to nowhere"....btw when Byrd took office in 1959 W.Va was 39th in medium family income and 42nd in per capita income.....today it ranks 48th in both, so much for the Billions poured into W Va by the "king of Pork"
Unfortunately, I have come to believe as Barry Goldwater said, "There's not a dime's worth of difference between either party".

Wonder how Pres. Obama really feels about raising the debt limit:

“The fact that we are here today to debate raising America's debt limit is a sign of leadership failure. It is a sign that the US Government can not pay its own bills. It is a sign that we now depend on ongoing financial assistance from foreign countries to finance our Government's reckless fiscal policies. Increasing America's debt weakens us domestically and internationally. Leadership means that, "the buck stops here.' Instead, Washington is shifting the burden of bad choices today onto the backs of our children and grandchildren. America has a debt problem and a failure of leadership. Americans deserve better.”

Senator Barack H. Obama, March 2006

Yeah, what a terrible thing happened to the UK. London has supplanted New York as the financial center of the world. I remember a brief time when the dollar and pound sterling were almost at par. Now it's $1.62 to the pound (though it's been as bad as 2:1 when my daughter was studying in England).

I was in London last year. In less than two weeks, I'm going to Scotland. Third world country? Not hardly! You, sir, have no idea what you're talking about.

The UK in the 1950s? Are you forgetting they were BOMBED OUT from World War II and had little industrial base left? (The rest of Europe had none but ours in the US was untouched)

JimJoe the discussion is about federal taxes not local and state taxes. If you have a problem with those see your state reps. By the way those that pay no income tax also pay the same state taxes that you do. To say they pay no taxes is simply untrue.