Lucky...

It's a start, but we have a loooooong way to go for socialism with most billionaires living here and still a high rate of poverty and homelessness. It took Nixon to go to China and Reagan to negotiate with Gorbachev. Maybe it needed a Dubya to socialize the USA. It least the righties can't whine about Socialist Obama any more. (Well, they can but they'll be hypocrites). Yea but when the RW cries about big gov, they don't include military spending in that, they exclusively mean social spending argued under the guise of all gov spending.

if you want lower taxes, FIRST cut govt. spending. Everyone gives up something. Or quit that 500k/yr job

We already have one of, if not the highest wealth disparity in the industrialized world, do you want it to spread more? Do you think it's healthy for a nation to have so many rich vs so many poor? Isn't it what's best for the country over what's best for a few rich? I mean, somany rich and other everyday Republicans are willing to apply utilitarianism in so many aspects of our lives, why not apply it here?

SO many people want this but nobody can give an answer on how to pay for it. Raise employee taxes slightly, since employers won't have to provide it anymore and cut the military in 1/2 so that we spend only 4 times that of the #2 spender. Done deal.

Why shouldn't we have a system where those who HAVE more pay more? Right, taxes follow money, not people; don't want the burden, lose the money.

You've just laid support for universal care / nationalized medicine and I couldn't agree more.

No, we are most certainly NOT. I disagree. -one of my friends is a 18year old mother of two African American that was orphaned at age 16. She is a sophmore in college. She is seizing the opportunity despite the challenges. A non-random sample size of 1 with vague details does not establish reliable data.

No, we are most certainly NOT. Thank you.

Counterpoint. So. If you are a sleazy CEO who rips off your shareholders and pensioners while getting millions for doing it and it put you in the way upper tax bracket and you have all those loopholes to avoid paying taxes, should you have to kick some down or do you deserve Big Bubba? If you didn't break any laws, then neither. If the CEO violated some written corporate governance, then give it back to the company. Otherwise, a clerk in the mail room, doing his job isn't entitled to a dime of anyone else's compensation, regardless of how outrageous it is. True. If that company signed that contract and allowed that CEO that take home amount.... the company (including the share holders) can't complain about the deal. BUT... they also shouldn't be bailed out by the government because of that contract either. But... hey. Lets just take all from those who have it and give it to those that don't. Why this pisses me off so much: My sisters and I all have similiar intellect. All were given the same emphasis on education by my parents. My older sister chose to join the carnival after failing out of college (cuz she partied a bit). My younger sister has been hoping for some guy to come and sweep her off her feet and just take care of her. I chose to go to college on a scholarship, went into the military, then went back to medical school on my own finances and now.... I have been told by my sisters that the "deserve" to get a certain amount each month from me! Now... if I CHOSE to give .... that's one thing. But the EXPECTED contribution is intolerable. This "redistrubution" is disgusting. We can argue this hardline fair vs it's mine, give it back...WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA. But as a bit of relief from the constant rhetoric from both sides, if, uh, someone, YOU, needs a kidney/bone marrow/etc, family members make the best tissue match donors, guess who's piss out of luck? My sister is getting the family fortune, I'm the youngest and most healthy, I've already told them all they need to look elsewhere if that need arrises. Fuck em. Of course they could have their choice, left or right kidney for a mere 1 mill . Greed, on a family level or a national level is really filth and examples of that are all around us with the OJ and his wife mess and many other notable celebrities and way more everyday people. Laughable to watch people making 100's of thousands per year crying about paying 10% of it to taxes.....pathetic really.

No need to get semantic with details of methodology. The data is hard to obtain since most homeless do not report. Data standards will vary from country to country, so we have to use general data that is available, might work to your advantage, might not. Remember, since we are the richest country on earth, we have much more capacity to handle the homeless/impoverished, so our numbers s/b a small fraction of other countries.....instead it is much higher.

Include Western Europe into that, too. Sad thing is, the more you get to Eastern part the more you see the real poverty, the homeless. Most mentall ill are cooped up into horrible "hospitals" w/o any treatment (go to Romania, Bulgaria ... ) Here they just throw them in jail.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Also, (and I dont know any statistics, so I'm asking) is the USA's poverty rate and homeless rate significantly lower than the majority of the rest of the world? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homelessness_in_the_United_States Annual homeless prevalence was estimated at between 1.58 million (based on October/November four-week count) to 3.49 million (based on February seven day count).[8] Most, though not all, advocates use the higher estimate of over 3 million, especially since homelessness is thought to have risen since 1996. So about 1%. Then we go to poverty and the numbers skyrocket. Another tidbit for a great militaristic nation: 23% are veterans (compared to 13% of general population). Shall we talk about the Las Vegas law prohibiting feeding homeless people? HERE'S DATA REGARDING THE US: http://www.globalissues.org/article/4/poverty-around-the-world#PovertyinIndustrializedCountries --- It may be surprising for some readers to learn that USA, the wealthiest nation on Earth, has the widest gap between rich and poor of any industrialized nation, and disparities continue to grow (See also this article and this article about how the media deals with such issues.) --- United For a Fair Economy reported that for 1998 almost 70% of the wealth was in the hand of the top 10%. So when some whine about taxes being paid by the top 2%, figure it out. ---- In another report, they mention that the gap has widened in recent decades. “In 1989, the United States had 66 billionaires and 31.5 million people living below the official poverty line. So again, 15% in poverty, as with 1% homeless. --- A decade later, the United States has 268 billionaires and 34.5 million people living below the poverty line-about $13,000 for a three-person family.” --- Then chairman of the Federal Reserve, Allan Greenspan, revealed concerns in mid-2005 that the increasing and widening income gap might eventually threaten the stability of democratic capitalism itself in the US. A little late, greeny. --- For example, as a summary of a report titled Economic Apartheid in America mentions, “that the United States is the only industrialised nation that ‘views health care as a privilege, not a basic human right.’”. (Unfortunately the report itself not available on the Internet, but is produced by United for a Fair Economy where you can see many extracts and similar reports.) America is a great, unique and exclusive place. HERE'S A GRAPHICAL INDEX OF INDUSTRIALIZED COUNTRIES HOMELESS COMNPARISON: http://www.healthwrights.org/articles/geneva/geneva1.htm Human poverty index. As we can see in the following graph, of 17 industrialized countries the US has the highest level of poverty. It also has the widest income disparity and the highest rate of child mortality. The graph is near the bootom of the page. Now, LET'S FACTOR IN WEALTH and the bar runs thru the top of teh chart, meaning a nation that is more rich should be able to handle caring for homeless. But no, in Nazimerica instead of caring for homeless, poor or people in a bad way, we legislate bankruptcy laws to make it more difficult for people to get out of poverty, essentially sentence them to debtor's prisons. Enough data for you? >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>What's wrong with being able to become a billionaire, or multimillionaire in your country? And is it evil that once people make large sums of money that they want to keep it vs. hand it all over to be dispersed by some professional baby kisser (right or left)? When the disparity reaches the US proportions, it's time for a recalculation. Nothing wrong with doing well, but when some maggots make 100M per year and then decry minimum wage increases, it's enough to make you puke. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>I can't figure out why people look at becoming wealthy as bad, uncool, evil etc? It's not bad ot be rich, just bad for a country to cater to them and shit on everyone else. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>The rich already pay significantly more taxes than anyone else by FAR. 70% of the welth is owned by 10% of the country, so there is no disproportion in tax paying, is there? Taxes follow wealth, not people; go broke, stop paying taxes - get rich, start paying taxes. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Why do they not deserve to keep what they earned? Earned? Yea, but enough about Paris Hilton. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>I hope one day I work hard enough to put myself in the position to get paid millions, why is that a bad dream to have? It's not, but if you get there, I hope you pay tons of taxes, just as if I get there. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>I've been to a dozen or so countries (including some in europe) and I always very thankful when I come home cuz I feel like we got it pretty good here. The data doesn't neccessarily support that. >>>>>>>>>>>All insight is welcome Respectfully back at ya, this is not an area where I'm an expert, so data is soemwehat new to me too.

There's always this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwpDqyRSyt4

LOL...... and reminisce about the good ole days back in WWII Germany.... But seriously, where do you go if you're a RW American displaced by Obama's presence in the WH? I mean it's gotta be a place as conservative as here.... no where, that's where, there is no place more conservative, maybe more oppressive, but not more conservative. there are many countries that are more conservative than the usa. Iran, Saudi Arabia, UAE, and many many others. Well, in an oppressive, totalitarian way, but not in the same way as American conservatism. They may share some attributes, but I consider ME countries to be just grossly totalitarian w/o looking at conservatism.

So, no place is as conservative.....But you also said about the US: So it is the most conservative AND the best on Earth? This you are leaving teh finest country on earth was sarcasm.

It's a start, but we have a loooooong way to go for socialism with most billionaires living here and still a high rate of poverty and homelessness.

Enter prohibition....... the same RW nuts are trying that with drugs and gays..... when will these nuts leave alone the US Constitution and leave it for important issues like due process, slavery prohibition and other universally substantive measures? Yea, banning works.

We may have our disagreements, but I think you'll understand this: the government never gives anything back. This bailout bill is the perfect example. SecTreas Paulson had a three page plan - transformed in to 450 page law. Now, the government wants to take ownership of banks? Where the f**k was that in the grand plan? Government spending has never gone down...ever. The government gives nothing back, in fact, it's not theirs to begin with. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>We may have our disagreements, but I think you'll understand this: the government never gives anything back. Right, they give it to corp America or it gets lost in teh gov somewhere. In Socialized nations it does get redistributed, Communism it goes to the gov. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>This bailout bill is the perfect example. SecTreas Paulson had a three page plan - transformed in to 450 page law. Yes, a perfect example of the gov taking from taxpayers directly or in this case writing more bad checks onto teh debt to give to corporations. This is noit Communism where the gov takes for the good of the gov, this $$$ is going to corporate America. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>Now, the government wants to take ownership of banks? Where the f**k was that in the grand plan? I think that's the best idea of all. I think they should take ownership of hospitals too. The gov has far more accountability than does corp America, just look at Grey Davis and recall election, look at Clinton's Impeachment and look at Republican scum Libby, but he is the exception, as his dirty Republican trash president communted him, just like Nixon, but there was still some accountability. Now let's look at corporate scum that gets away, there are many and they generally serve short terms or not at all. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Government spending has never gone down...ever. Social spending increases in part due to an increasing population, military spending increases above the massive number it has due to the R word, as Obama gets elected I can hope that falls. >>>>>>>>>>>>>The government gives nothing back, in fact, it's not theirs to begin with. Gee that's funny, the 10 trillion $ was never ours, yet it was taken from teh gov when the people spend too much, so perhaps we should give back for the good of the little ones. If we had a multi-billion $ surplus, I would agree with you, but we are so far in the hole that we are the thieves via the trash that has been elected lately, that trash being the 3 stooges, perhaps GHWB gets a partial ride from that.

No, but you can ride in the front passenger seat. Or do we hang him on a rack in the back window?

Actually, the difference is that when you get fucked in the ass by a lawyer, you don't always know it right away. You should have a plaque made that reads that statement..... a real client pleaser

It's worse... The man who chose a running mate whose daughter's boyfriend has antlers in his yard... Yea, we thought the "out of wedlock pregnant daughter" thing was bad, now we have Antlergate.

Here, let me repost OP: If McCain wins, then dies in office, it'll be like the beverly hillbillies; presidential series. Hell, we can even get a Jeb, just have Bush's brother come up, Junior could be played by Jognson, Ellie Amy would be Palin's daughter and granny could be played by Barbara Bush.....good times. And they even have the oil connection there. OK, can we all see this is for fun. On another note, glad to see you're not mad anymore Bill, for a while there I thought you were ignoring me

Yea, just look at George Bush, ggod point.

It is all for fun, don't be a buzz-kill.

Is that like a Coca-Cola Cowboy?