Originally Posted by Bucco

You have made some silly posts in the past but this may be the silliest !

Thanks, I needed that. LOL

I wonder if we could get the 50% non-voting public to vote if we changed the ballots only slightly.

In addition to every candidate on the ballot, we add "None of the above".

I mean, even in South America, they got to vote "NO".

Originally Posted by Bucco

You have made some silly posts in the past but this may be the silliest !

So let me understand....in your mind it is perfectly ok for Donna2 to suggest that people who don't pay taxes should not be able to vote, even in light of the constitution. But my little parody of turning her post around is just silly.

Sure....

Originally Posted by Donna2

You accused me of talking in "code" I say that you were hoping I was talking in code so you could bait me with your left-wing talking points.

The whole meaning of my post was "Taxation without Representation"

Now we have representation without paying taxes. And yes, there is a generation or two with an entitlement mentality. Last I heard, health care is not in the constitution. You can pursue happiness. You also can pursue your own health care. Nobody can make you happy but yourself.
Another question: Howe can you keep having more entitlements with less and less people contributing? Again, 47% of the people in the USA do not pay taxes but expect other people to pay for it for them. They feel entitled.

Donna...the largest entitlement programs funded by the US government, which represent almost 50% of the budget, are Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid...not to mention the latest unfunded entitlement the Medicare prescription drug benefit. But you take SS and Medicare of the table because you are entitled to those.......

Originally Posted by cologal

So let me understand....in your mind it is perfectly ok for Donna2 to suggest that people who don't pay taxes should not be able to vote, even in light of the constitution. But my little parody of turning her post around is just silly.

Sure....

She was making a point, and I suspect you knew that. You have often said that we on here take you too literally.

It was, and is, as silly silly thing to accuse someone of ! I dont know Donna but in reading her posts it would seem to me that she would be more likely to defend the constitution with much vigor.

You overreacted and attacked on an issue that DOES NOT EXIST ! And you knew it !

If you even scanned what she attached, you would find the author saying "it aint gonna happen" and that the entire conversation was to point out that HALF of american citizens do not pay one cent to the federal government via federal income taxes.

The article then ends by advocating growth of the voters, not the reduction.

You are much too quick to want to make an issue out of nothing.

There is also on the other side the concern about efforts to allow convicted felons to vote and also illegal immigrants which will be an issue very shortly !

Originally Posted by cologal

Donna...the largest entitlement programs funded by the US government, which represent almost 50% of the budget, are Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid...not to mention the latest unfunded entitlement the Medicare prescription drug benefit. But you take SS and Medicare of the table because you are entitled to those.......

From my point of view....ABSOLUTELY on Social Security...the government has taken from me for YEARS and I will make a deal...gimme what you took and I will be happy ! So, from my point of view....YES I do feel entitled to Social Security !

Originally Posted by cologal

Donna...the largest entitlement programs funded by the US government, which represent almost 50% of the budget, are Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid...not to mention the latest unfunded entitlement the Medicare prescription drug benefit. But you take SS and Medicare of the table because you are entitled to those.......

Every thing cost money. Nothing is free. The USA is going bankrupt. What don't you understand? People paid into SS and have a right to get it back. I have been putting into it for 57 years. Is that hard to understand?

Originally Posted by Bucco

She was making a point, and I suspect you knew that. You have often said that we on here take you too literally.

It was, and is, as silly silly thing to accuse someone of ! I don't know Donna but in reading her posts it would seem to me that she would be more likely to defend the constitution with much vigor.

You overreacted and attacked on an issue that DOES NOT EXIST ! And you knew it !

If you even scanned what she attached, you would find the author saying "it ain't gonna happen" and that the entire conversation was to point out that HALF of American citizens do not pay one cent to the federal government via federal income taxes.

The article then ends by advocating growth of the voters, not the reduction.

You are much too quick to want to make an issue out of nothing.

There is also on the other side the concern about efforts to allow convicted felons to vote and also illegal immigrants which will be an issue very shortly !

Well it seems that the Governor of Virginia has a plan for the felons...now they have to write an essay, to him, on why their vote should be reinstated.

By the way I paid my taxes this year as always.

Originally Posted by Donna2

Every thing cost money. Nothing is free. The USA is going bankrupt. What don't you understand? People paid into SS and have a right to get it back. I have been putting into it for 57 years. Is that hard to understand?

I am still working so I still putting into SS and Medicare. No one put in money for the prescription benefit that was an explanation of the Medicare entitlement program. Were you so outraged when GW Bush expanded this program without any funding? Is that when the Tea Parties started? This is a socialist program....did you ever call G W Bush a socialist?

I have been putting into the program since I was 16 years old for a told now of 44 years. My retirement age is 65 and I have absolutely no plans to work after retirement. So I will have paid for nearly 50 years. In studies that have been done most likely I will not get everything I paid into the program back. In fact it maybe bankrupt before I retire.

Yes the country is in trouble but we all need to be honest about how we got here...there is plenty of blame to go around.

Originally Posted by cologal

Well it seems that the Governor of Virginia has a plan for the felons...now they have to write an essay, to him, on why their vote should be reinstated.

By the way I paid my taxes this year as always.

Then address your snide comments to the Governor of Virginia..not Donna.

And why would anyone care about YOUR taxes ???

Originally Posted by cologal

I am still working so I still putting into SS and Medicare. No one put in money for the prescription benefit that was an explanation of the Medicare entitlement program. Were you so outraged when GW Bush expanded this program without any funding? Is that when the Tea Parties started? This is a socialist program....did you ever call G W Bush a socialist?

I have been putting into the program since I was 16 years old for a told now of 44 years. My retirement age is 65 and I have absolutely no plans to work after retirement. So I will have paid for nearly 50 years. In studies that have been done most likely I will not get everything I paid into the program back. In fact it maybe bankrupt before I retire.

Yes the country is in trouble but we all need to be honest about how we got here...there is plenty of blame to go around.

YOU just dont get it at all. What difference does Bush have to do with this....why is it all about PARTY with you....are you simply a blind party person.

Have you not read people critique the last adminstration for spending ? Why are you always posting simply on party lines.

This administration and congress are making ANY past administration of ANY party look like minor leaguers !

Originally Posted by cologal

I am still working so I still putting into SS and Medicare. No one put in money for the prescription benefit that was an explanation of the Medicare entitlement program. Were you so outraged when GW Bush expanded this program without any funding? Is that when the Tea Parties started? This is a socialist program....did you ever call G W Bush a socialist?

I have been putting into the program since I was 16 years old for a told now of 44 years. My retirement age is 65 and I have absolutely no plans to work after retirement. So I will have paid for nearly 50 years. In studies that have been done most likely I will not get everything I paid into the program back. In fact it maybe bankrupt before I retire.

Yes the country is in trouble but we all need to be honest about how we got here...there is plenty of blame to go around.

How did President Bush get into the mix? Does everything have to go straight to the party line with you?

Many true conservatives were not very happy with that bill your talking about. Many people in tea party did not like it either.

I think the tea party is an accumulation of many things that have been happening for many years. Obama was the straw that broke the proverbial camel's back.

Funny, the same baby boomers who are running and ruining our country were the protesters back in the 60's. Now the protesters are protesting them, and they are trying to demonize them.

If I'm not mistaken, voters in Maine and Vermont allow inmates in Maine and Vermont prisons to vote from prison.

Virginia voters have a long standing law that prohibits convicted felons of voting (or owning firearms, holding public office, to serve on juries and to serve as a Notary Public) unless they apply for and receive gubernatorial restoration of voting rights. They never gain their rights to own firearms. Some felons must wait three years before applying after completion of their sentence. People convicted of violent felonies, drug sales, and electoral offenses must wait five years. Governor McDonnell wants a letter from the inmate

According to the Richmond Times Dispatch : "Secretary of the Commonwealth Janet Polarek has said her office has begun to notify non violent voting rights restoration applicants in the pipeline to submit a letter. She said the letter will help her office understand circumstances of the case and more about the person’s story. It could actually streamline the process, Polarek contends, because the office will have details of the applicants at-the-ready.

"If the applicant can’t write the letter or would prefer not to, their attorney can write it for them, or the applicant can call her office directly and tell their story, she said."

Roger Clegg, JD, President and General Counsel at the Center for Equal Opportunity, stated the following in his Oct. 18, 2004 article "Perps and Politics, Why Felons Can't Vote," published in National Review:
"Individuals who have shown they are unwilling to follow the law cannot claim the right to make laws for the rest of us. We don't let everyone vote, not children, for instance, or noncitizens, or the mentally incompetent. We have certain minimum standards of trustworthiness before we let people participate in the serious business of self-government, and people who commit serious crimes don't meet those standards."

B.K. born in the great Commonwealth of Virginia (the birthplace of Presidents)

Originally Posted by re-tire

Once there is a VAT... this will all be a moot point. When you buy your ciggies and beer you'll be paying federal tax.... as it should be.

What do you mean? Are you for or against a Value Added Tax?

re-tire, there is already a federal tax on tobacco products and beer.

This is in addition to the state and local taxes imposed by localities for these items. This is also in addition federal income taxes, federal taxes on firearms and ammunition, air travel, communications like telephones, life insurance policies provided by employers, lottery winnings, import duties, gasoline (18.4 cents per gallon)....

The federal tax on cigerattes is already $1.01 per pack. Obama raised the tax by .62 cents (nearly 156 percent increase) in April 2009 to fund the State Children's Health Insurance Program (S-CHIP), which was a failing government program in many states.

In addition to the state and local taxes, the federal government imposes volume taxes on distilled spirits, wine, and beer that are in addition to state alcohol taxes. This tax is based on the percentage of alcohol in the product which is an average of .05 cents per can of beer, $2.14 (at 80 proof) per bottle of alcohol and wine is about .31 cents per bottle.

Also, the Value Added Tax, if imposed like the European Union's VAT, will affect every product we purchase with some exemptions or preferential rates on basic needs such as food, medicine, and clothing.

The Value Added Tax will increase the prices and won't replace the taxes already in place. If we don't believe the producers will pass it on to consumers, we're smoking something besides tobacco.