GE pays no taxes, receives tax bonuses, ships jobs overseas, and its CEO is into job creation

[Meresgi]

The financial crisis even prompted the Republican Greenspan, a staunch believer in free markets, to propose that government consider tougher regulations, including requiring financial firms that package mortgages into securities to keep a portion as a check on quality.

I did not know about that or what he said circa 2008. My apologies. Then yeah, it's more on congress' head and the lobbyists.

[Therin]

In last night's show, Jon Stewart ripped GE for paying no federal taxes in 2010 on its $14 billion profit. . . Obama exulted that "GE has something to teach American businesses."

So Obama believes we should all refuse to pay income taxes. Man, I should've voted for him after all!

[SwampdonkeyPLD]

What's "the inevitable"? Spending should rise as tax revenue rises from greater population and economic growth. Military spending is a GIANT piece of the federal budget. If we knock a big chunk out of that, and keep it knocked out, it goes a long way towards balancing the budget. This rinky-dink cutting of Planned Parenthood and what not is the drop in the bucket meaningless "cutting" that should be criticized.

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S 4G using Tapatalk

From going bankrupt to w/e other consequences there are. The simple point is, cutting something i.e., the military, doesn't matter b/c spending is always going to go up. Cutting spending for little shit doesn't matter. It slowly delays w/e the end result of perpetual spending increases are. Now, if our spending didn't always go up, maybe it would matter if GE didn't pay taxes.

And liberalism isn't a religion Kuya?

[Kurokikaze]

^ huuuwhaat?

[Ragnus]

Says the guy zealotously defending his conservative ways without budging an inch?

Making a cut to the military defense budget like oh say.... the 32.5 million dollars spent on NASCAR sponsorships vs. 5 million that NPR receives each year. Hell, even take into account the whole defunding package and it's only 50 million they're taking back.

Meanwhile the defense budget chimes in at 549 BILLION dollars for 2011. If you take out 149 Billion of that it still leaves a hefty amount for our war funds and it's a ton of money that is freed up for things we critically need like out own country's infrastructure which sucks harder than a porn star right now. Hell, just the money we spent on the missiles we dropped on Libya in the first 24 hours could have made a few thousand jobs in this country.

[Kurokikaze]

It's insane how out of touch with their base Republicans really are... Like they're not conservative at all; Ron Paul being the exception.

[SwampdonkeyPLD]

I'm saying cutting insignificant spending doesn't matter. Cut military spending in half and that's only 10% of the budget. Tax revenues went up 25% after the Bush cuts and spending went up over 70%. Woopty fucking doo if GE pays taxes or we cut the military in half, it isn't the problem and accomplishes basically nothing.

[Kurokikaze]

10% of the budget isn't a massive cut? What?

[SwampdonkeyPLD]

10% of the budget isn't a massive cut? What?

It's massive, but not beneficial. It might be beneficial, except that's the only thing liberals think should be cut from the budget. Spending goes up everywhere else and that 10% cut doesn't really matter.

[Kurokikaze]

I consider myself a liberal and I don't think thats the only thing that should be cut from.. but its definitely where we should start instead of cutting from education and other areas where the effects are financially small but in terms of academics and infrastructure crippling.

You say don't cut spending cause it'll go up somewhere else. By that logic we should just not do shit. It'll fix itself, its cool. lol

Also you say that it doesn't matter if GE pays taxes... Sure it doesn't if they alone pay their taxes - but if we get other corporations to start coughing up their dues we might get somewhere. They don't pay taxes AND the government gives them money they don't need - thats way more spending and its your base doing it. THERE IS NOTHING CONSERVATIVE ABOUT THIS.

[SwampdonkeyPLD]

No, by my logic, spending needs to be addressed. Closing loopholes, which would affect you to if you owned your own business, accomplishes nothing but making rubbing that morningwood out a little more satisfying.

[Demosthenes11]

military spending goes up an incredible amount each year too swamp. what other spending freeze would give us as much money as the military? freezing...bus subsidies?

[aurik]

You'll never be able to convince swampy that since D = S - T, decreasing T is equivalent to increasing S.

Not even remotely possible.

^

[SwampdonkeyPLD]

^

If you want to talk about it in those terms, what I won't be convinced of is increasing T by 1 when at the same time increasing S by 10 is somehow important or the problem. S is the problem not T.

Now the military example, if S is made up of X (the military) and Y, cutting X in half doesn't matter when it Y goes up by just as much.

[Mazmaz]

Except you know, they're trying to make it so Y doesn't go up.

[SwampdonkeyPLD]

Except you know, they're trying to make it so Y doesn't go up.

And unless it's done so though entitlement spending, it really doesn't matter.

[Kuya]

Or unless a democrat creates a surplus, and then a republican government comes along with more military spending and tax cuts and fucks it up. I don't really see the problem. The last three governments to bust the budget have been republicans. So it clearly is an issue of what to do when republicans jump back on the wagon.

[archibaldcrane]

Or maybe, since we have lower tax levels now than at any point in the past 60 years, we should raise taxes since we can't properly function when we pinch pennies this hard.

Also, I've never seen someone stick to a nonsensical position as hard as Swampy is. "It doesn't matter if we cut spending because we'll keep on increasing spending" is just an amazing argument.

[Kuya]

Hey zealot, is you running for president some sort of inside joke or are you really going to run?

[Melchiah]

And unless it's done so though entitlement spending, it really doesn't matter.

This is the key point in his argument that all of you seem to keep missing.

Entitlement spending, motherfuckers, entitlement spending.