Yes, just look at your birth certificate, you are made a ward of the state. When you are born you become a chattel, a commodity, only to be exploited.

Publius, please tell me your thoughts; if Lincoln allowed the south to secede would it not be a better state of affairs? Also it killed off most of our you folk during a time they were desperately needed. Should we not have left the south to be its own sovereignty? Perhaps excluding Virginia? I believe the states should have been able to leave as they were able to join. Holding the nation together may have been his biggest mistake.

Indeed, just look at the last 10 years - they have broken every conceivable law - 1933 was when the starting gun was fired. John Locke and George Berkeley what a duo. "Among a people generally corrupt, liberty cannot long exist" GB

He perverted it with Executive orders. There are other things he did that American's are still suffering from. The actual quote deserves five but the person who said deserves none. Archer, you hit the nail on the head.

Some key contributors are conspicuous by their absence - I want to see perfect marks...

That's funny; I was reading this quote and thought, I just read this. Yes, right on Ron, please run for President. There you are, us Liberals do think out of the box. We are submissive, apathetic, ignorant of what is really going on, and prefer mediocrity to real change. Please everyone, send this to all your friends and tell them to forward to their friends, we must keep this going.

Eric. you need to write more letters like that - do it until they get it! Please run for President... Benjamin Franklin said the same thing...

Perfect!!!!! you can't solve problems using the same strategy that created them.

Obviously the FR and the banks didn't understand this basic principle of economics.

Especially if those stakeholders performed criminal acts which many did - they should have prison sentences. It's crazy many home owners have no idea where there title is and neither does the original lender.

Perfect - instead of giving these criminals bonus in the millions send them to prison.

Much of the Cato Institute I disagree with but on this comment they some good points - basically they want the Federal Government out of the picture so that Corporate America can rape the workers more than they are already doing. THEY WANT CONTROL...

I don't need to comment Reston, Popeye, and Waffler, did it for me...

We just take advantage of China's cheap labor market - O, yes, a Free Market is great for the capitalist's - what idiots are we to allow this and even worse vote for them - talk about self denial.

Carlton, tell me who owns the Federal Reserves - please no platitudes of sound bytes. There are foreign entities that have a stake in the FR but in no way do they own the FR. Perhaps we should tell these foreign entities to take their money, take out their interest in our companies, stop investing in the US. Did you know that many of the products made in China are produced by American companies.

Carlton, you must have been looking in a mirror when you wrote this. It's right-wing fascists like you that are the cause of the mess we are in. And when it has totally sunk into the mire you will be screaming for help and yes it will be us Liberals who will throw you the rope. Quite the reverse of your way of thinking - sad, really sad....

Carlton with that attitude you will also see your demise.

Mike, of course they are only part but they are the part in charge.

Reston, I agree, but most of that goes to pay our military and bureaucracy and for that reason I'll give it four stars. We are being raped not by our taxes but by the corporate and military complex. Carlton, whats pathetic is your argument as it it no true bearing on reality just on your opinion of reality. If you think that a flat tax on gas would cover the cost of out military and court system then you really need to do you economics one on one. Now, if you did a flat tax across the board on gross income of say 17% (no exemption) that would most definitely cover our national expenses as long as we reduce the military budget by 50% - I see they are already asking for an increase in their military budget - what absolute lunacy.

Because it is only discussing economics - and I love the new phrase of the day: "Quantitative Easing" to replace "Bailing Out" There goes Carlton again, he just can't take it without a jibe... Spot on Reston. Ben Bernanke (helicopter Ben) has never run a company or had a real job "government can always avoid deflation by simply issuing more money." His Keynesian policies are as lunatic as they were then.

This is when the government was in charge that is no longer the case. Politicians are now but pawns of their corporate and military masters - just replace the word "government" with "our corporate and military masters" and it would be spot on.

And Sir Walter should know.... Reston you are right on with one minor change - they also manipulate the information gathering process and the machines used to count the votes. We currently do not have a voting system that can be trusted and therefore have none. ID cards are not the problem or the real issue, it's the far-right demigods that are seizing our country and using idiots like Bernanke etc. and their corporate owned media to do their dirty work.

I agree, but also cut the military budget. The biggest and richest counties are those around DC WOW! what a surprise... Cut also the prison services which is another fast growing industry. If we had a flat tax the IRS would not exist (relatively speaking). Carol, who do you thinks runs Obama wake up girl..... WALL STREET and the Military

Jim and Carlton, are you insane the rich only pay on average 5 percent while the rest of us poor suckers pay 30 percent. Its far more than 40 percent more like 70 percent. The military alone is 50 percent or more - just cut that by 50 percent and it would pay for Medicare ten times over. Where do you get your info? I suppose Beck, Limbaugh and Palin etc. The one tax they should do away with is Property tax and increase the tax on the rich to 50 percent across the board - better still make it a flat tax for the rich of 50 percent NO DEDUCTIONS - start sharing you wealth, the wealth you made on the back of workers.

Archer, so is private property.....