1. The Fed (as in Federal Reserve) does not print money. The Treaury Department does. 2. If they print money to pay their debts and send it to the Chineese, Social Security Admin, etcetera we could be out of debt today. They don't print money to pay off the debts. If they could or should do that we would not have debt in the first place. 3. So I guess that makes Dr. Paul a genuine flake and nut case. 4. The only difference between the two parties is when the Repubs say we are going to cut taxes what they really mean is we are going to sell bonds and make our rich friends richer with US Treasury interest. 5. Carlton is on to something concerning the Roman empire. The wealthy sat at the top reclining on their chaises eating and drinking while the masses only subsisted. The Empire failed because the Republic lost the ability to tax the rich. So have we. Absolute wealth like absolute power corrupts completely. What we observing in our land is a return to the Gilded Age of the 1880's and then we will eventually become a feudal society like in 1300's. 4

Rearden since all employers are in the same situation in regards to the deductions and contributions you mention none are in any competitive disadvantage with any other. The only complaint they might legitimately have is the "burden" of doing the accounting, filling out the forms, and writing a check. Most of the money or half of it in regards to SS and Medicare came from the individual worker. In most states retailers are paid a fee by the state for their work in collecting and remitting the state sales taxes. So cut out tired and trite teary eyed sob stories about the poor employers of labor. Ever since its inception in 1953 Republicans have been trying to get rid of the Small Business Adminstration. The agency has helped millions of small guys get started in businesses grossing up to $10 million dollars. If the Republicans are for small business as they claim why do they try to get rid of this Agency. Obama put the Administrator of the Agency into his Cabinet.

I was an accountant Rearden and computed all of those things and do tax returns for small businesses who paid such things. If a guy cannot successfully pass on all of these costs in the price of his product then I guess he just does not have a very good product. All social security, medicare, and welfare pay outs wind up back in the hands of the producers of goods and services. Of a truth if there were no poor then their would not be any rich. Dividends capital gains come from the ability to make and cell something that has value to the user. You have not been reading long enough or close enough that's for sure Rearden.

The Republican Party is the best example of this; Ryan presents a budget that will reach balance in 30 years, but will leave the existing debt of 15 trillion in place and growing larger for the same period of time. Hell just 12 years ago Clinton left the with the Treasury experiencing a surplus of 230 billion and in a position to pay down the debt. The Republicans led by Cheney said "that surplus is the American peoples money" and they embarked on 12 years of financial disaster. A few good Republicans like Saxby Chmbliss are trying to get out from under the lies and deceit of Grover Norquist and others to return us to the sanity of Bill Clinton. It certainly is not easy fighting against the Repulican theory which is basically based on personal enrichment by destrying the financial integrity of our national government. These theorists (really just self centered money grubbers) are the same guys who deny global warming because it does not fit into the personal short term enrichment goals.

Jim K. have you any specific examples to support your diatribe. Carnegie preyed on the labor of immigrant Italians (abused them) got rich and gave the money to build libraries. Romey got rich by destroying American labor and sending the jobs overseas, put his money offshore, I gave the rest to the Mormon Church. Sometimes private enterprise has little or no morality or sense of societal obligations, That is why we need regulation and an educated sense of society obligations. Private enterprise did not build the roads, bridges, dams, schools, etcetera etecetera.

Say whut?

Yes shared values is what makes us at least a body politic. Right wing nuts just hate the word shared and I am not to sure they care about the word values unless it has to do with money.

Here Parick would imply that the militia should not be put into any ones hands. In order to defeat a disciplined army the opposition must be disciplined and organized. Now whether that discipline and organization comes from "congress" or some other central body or different "congress" is a matter of choice but a central org is needed.

Sounds like Republicans to me. Like Dick Cheney's famous "deficits or debt don't matter", now Romney's soon to be famous, "class size does not matter".

The enemy is any org or institutionalized set of beliefs that subvert individuality. Traditional beliefs may also subvert individuality.

So Mike does your love of liberty include gay and lesbian rights etc. Or as my friends so no rules at all.

Why do Repubs look down their noses at Obama for being a "celebrity" President when they foisted guys like Reagan and Swarzenegger on us? Regan prostituted himself most of his life and is the real reason for the current state of the US Treasury. He reduced taxes on his rich buddies and increased Social Security Taxes on the rest of us. He used Social Security to run the country. Now it is time to reverse it and pay Social Security back.

The term death tax was started y a wealthy California family and their lawyer. Estate taxes have been around a long time. When assets pass to someone else after death they often have an appreciated capital gain that has never been taxed. Let us face it, inheritance is nothing more than WELFARE for people you care about. Public assistance is welfare for people you don't care about. Most folk wish their own to fare well but often to do not care much about how others may fare. This may be a short sighted attitude.

Except Mike, Obama did not do it! The path we are on was changed by Cheney/Bush. Clinton/Gore had the US Fed Budget on surplses far into the future. These would have been necessary in order to pay off the existing debt at the time. Bush ended all of that. Obama has only inherited the Cheney/Bush failed philosophy. This situation will never correct itself until we dump the liars and phonies. There is absolutely no reason that the government of the worlds largest economy should be in this situation. Simply by ending the give away that is called the Standard Deduction the Treasury could pick up billions. (As you know one may deduct his mortgage interest and RE Taxes. However and strangely enough if one does not have those items he may still take a deduction amouting to $10,000 or more. This give away deduction at a 20% tax rate amounts to a $2,000 Tax savings or give away to the American people who did not have the otherwise required expense of mortgage interest and real estate taxes. This change when multiplied by millions of taxpayers would bring in billions of dollars. I only mention this as an example of the stupidity that is in th Code and how easy it would be to fix if we could only get some decent politicians, like Clinton and Gore instead of the Bush/Cheney and Grover what's his face, or yeah, Norquist.

Wow and now we have Dick Cheney, who says, "Deficits don't matter!" Yes we have come a long long way.

Life=Indivuality, Liberty=Faculties, Property=Prduction. What a bunch of BS.

of couse this is true except it mostly ain't the Feds who do it. States license Doctors, Dentists, CPA's, Barbers etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. The Feds on the other hand bend over backwards to free up the market. For example they administer a course of study and a test that anyone can take and master and gain the same righs and priviledges of a Lawyer or CPA in dealing with the Internal Revenue Service. There are many other examples of where the Feds try to assist the lockd out or disenfranchised. The Small Business Adminsitration, VA etcetera are examples. Don't forget the Bureau of Indian Affairs which helps Native Americans overcome the stifling nature of some state governments.

Freedom like the Constitution is a living thing.

No one is qualified to write in stone. Dictators clim to be so qualified. The forefaters knew this that is why they put in the right to have amendments. It is weak minds who fear the freedom to think and the freedom to be equal in rights to the Founding Fathers. Cal it is okay to not know where you stand. That is just being human.

Carlton is so wrong again. The assumption is that the way we are is the way that we want to be. Now acting in concert and the citizenry acquiescing is what gave us the first Bush II Presidency. Carlton's apparent concept that the Branches always have and always must disagree is plain foolishness. That is not checks and balances it is a non-existant government which as any reader on this site knows is what Carlton really wants. The NRA guy is right howerver and so we know that Presidents appoint Judges with a certain temperment. We do not live in a theocracy where the laws come down from on high or a dictatorship but in a fluid flucuating state of public opinion. Many guys on this site cannot handle that concept. But should the NRA guy suggest that guns should be taken up for one side or the other then I am sure the other side would do so also. Alas Civil War and that would make the NRA and the gun industry that it is the pay of very happy.

What Einstein is saying in a way is "we are the constitution". It is a living document carried in the hearts and minds of its citizens. That is not to say we should not be careful in reading it but we must enforce its concepts and spirit in my view. That means that not only should government not coerce people concerning religion (prayer in school) or racism (white drinking fountans) but each of us should also act in the ways the Constitution requires government to act.

For ages people have resisted having dope emporiums on their street or in their town. People also, as a general rule, wish to discourage or indict certain types of persons congregating or hanging around their impressionable children and inflicting them with certain habits. The drug war is nothing more than this. I think Friedman did not explain himself very well here.

Admiral William McRaven is quoted by Time Magazine January 2, 2012 as saying this: "About Obama, without a question to prompt him, he waxes lyrical and at length. The planning and decisionmaking for the bin Laden raid, he volunteers, "was really everything the American public would expect from their national leadership: The President was at all times presidential, I would contend he was the smartest guy in the room. He had leadership skills we'd expect from a guy who had 35 yeas in the military" Now guys like Carlton, Jim K, and yes Mike from Norwalk will ignore all evidentiary material and information and try to create their own version of truth on any and every public or scientific issue extant only to suit some preconceived notion or view. As for the quote it is correct. We create the world to a large extent out of our own minds, but we always will be caught up short by actual, immutable facts. Or at least some of us will!

Fantastic I seem to agree with Carlton on something. While I believe bipartisanship goes against every thing he stands for since such folk as he think in absolute right terms it is still refreshing. But nice talking to you again J.

Talk about being poor or at least mentally deficient, Carlton accuses me of being Communist because I am yes a Green, and apparently wishes to state that being Green (alas poor Kermit) is being Communist. He then states that China is a big apparently non-Green Communist entity. I can name other so called Communist states that were non-Green in the Eastern Bloc especially old Romania. In the end the only conclusion is that J Carlton knows nothing of which he speaks. And such people are the biggest suckers and promulgators of the big lie. If you know nothing then might as well believe in myth and that is what they do.