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TOPICS: politics, obama, robin hood
It is less than a week before Nov. 4 and I have been watching political ads on television, reading political fliers stuck in my doors, and receiving political phone calls on my cell. I am happy to report that I have learned a very valuable lesson from all this campaigning, in fact, I have been enlightened not by Maverick McCain, nor have I finally taken something of value away from Obama's rhetoric of change and hope.
As of today, I no longer need to worry about my standardized test scores, my GPA, my applications to graduate school, my job with the university -- heck, I don't even care about graduating with my degree in May. Why the sudden nonchalance concerning my future? Because, guess what: President Obama is going to make sure I'm OK. I don't have to pursue a college degree, I don't have to try to make something of my life, I don't even have to make minimum wage. I can sit at home all day long peaceful in the knowledge that Obama is looking out for me, an average middle class citizen. With Obama as my president, I can rest easy knowing that my fellow classmates whom I would have graduated with in May are going to work every day from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and pay taxes to support my relaxation indefinitely. Who's with me?
Oh, wait ... this is reality and I still have some common sense about me. I still have to graduate, get my master's degree, find a job with a firm and start paying back graduate-school loans. But it gets better! I also now get to pursue a better life and earn money not just to support my family and myself. No, no, now I get to help support everyone who is too lazy to work for a living.
Wake up, America. We as citizens of the United States aren't guaranteed a "spreading of the wealth" as Obama so adamantly desires. Our great nation was founded by the very same men who declared that inalienable rights included the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness; that's it. Do my eyes fail me or is the right to money mentioned somewhere in there? Oh, sure, you may argue that the pursuit of happiness means a right to monetary happiness but I'd say check again, folks, the word is "pursuit" not achievement. You have every right to pursue happiness and if that means monetary wealth, fine. What you don't have is the right to expect money from the government simply on principle. And guess who wants to extend a right not mentioned anywhere in the Constitution -- your friend and mine, our very own modern day Robin Hood -- Barack Obama.
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Best article yet. Thank you
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Erika, you've been drinking too much McCain Kool-Aid. I've been working for 35 years, saving for retirement and living a fiscally responsible life. Thanks to the Republican policies of the last eight years, my savings have been decimated in the recent financial crisis and I won't be getting any help with my mortgage because it's not subprime and I make my payments. Oh, and I don't qualify for those Bush tax cuts for the wealthy either. And you're whining about redistribution of wealth? You must have missed the massive upward spreading of the wealth in recent years. Just who are these "people who blindly expect government support"? Surely you don't mean AIG, Bear Stearns and big banks? Oh no, it's those icky, lazy poor people who are so inconvenient to our great American society. Just remember, there but for the grace of God.... Good luck out there.
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"Thanks to the Republican policies of the last eight years" should be "Thanks to the Democratic policies of the last twelve years." There, fixed that for you. See Bill Clinton repeals Glass-Steagall act in 1999, or Bill Clinton changes Community Reinvestment Act in 1995. Maybe you missed the roll call for the bailout package here: http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2008/roll674.xml where two thirds of republicans voted nay. Honestly I'm stoked about this wealth redistribution thing. I mean, just look at social security. I've just started paying into it, and I can't wait to see what I get back when I retire in 40 years.
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What do your grandparents do all day? Mine Grandfather lives in Florida and golfs and bowls weekly. He also reads the paper daily and visits the pool nearly every day. You could argue he sits around all day and waits for his government check. But, what really got me laughing at you is your lack of insight into the loss of jobs, an addition 2.2 million people last month. So, get a job? More like try to find out who is hiring because you are missing the scroll at the bottom of Fixed News telling you that companies are laying off hundreds and thousands of workers. Good luck in your job search, but don't classify everyone else as lazy.
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To Yawn: Presumably, your grandfather collects a check because he has paid into Social Security for his entire working career. That's how SS works: the government takes your money from you (since clearly they can invest it better than we the moronic people), then they start paying it back to you once you reach the appropriate age.
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Not everyone who receives a check from the government is pond scum. I became disabled during college and my meager college student savings didn't get me very far. I could no longer work, but still had to pay rent so I applied to the social security office for disability. For me, it was short term, but it is a flawed system that makes transitioning back to the workforce difficult.
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Wow, that was so perfectly put! I would agree 100%. And for those who are "enraged" because you recieved governemnt support and blah,blah, blah...the writer said "I am for helping people who need BRIEF assistance to get back on their feet." But, this is simply for those, and we ALL know they are out there--we have seen, if not, heard of people who know the government will simply take care of them. It's positively ridiculous. I work hard everyday 8-5 for my husband and I, NOT for some idiot who knows his check will roll in every month and thinks that he'll look for a job "tomorrow". As far as social security, that's a completely different subject--those who retire and have paid social security their ENTIRE life deserve to get those checks--not the idiot who sucked off the government his entire life and amounted to nothing.
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It has been the Democrats' policies that have suffocated this countrys economy. Labor unions are leaches on this society. You can't regulate the free market so that it is always going up, thats just retarded.
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The fact that the CT still employs you after the embarrassing and ignorant articles you write amazes me. Do us all a favor and just quit.
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Jason T: Thanks for the lesson but I already knew it. I am an educated elitist liberal who wants to give money for nothing and believes that making a master list of everyone who receives welfare or food stamps is wrong because then we could check when they applied and cut them off at a certain point, plus as a republican like you, or a libertarian would argue it infringes upon their civil liberties. Not like the current administration would want to defend those. Besides, the party in power almost exclusively for the past couple years could not have been the Republicans, NO WAY!!
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Anon, do us all the favor and do not excercise your 2nd ammendment
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This is a perfect example of people who do not research their facts before they think something. This whole article seems to be based on the words "spreading of the wealth". But if you did your homework instead of just letting someone swing the way you think you would know that McCain is doing the same thing, "spreading the wealth". The truth is that you assume that money will be taxed from you and given to people who don't deserve it. When in-fact unless you own your own business or make over like 200 grand a year you will either get a tax break or stay the same. The plus side is that hopefully if you work for a small company who doesn't provide health insurance, they will be made to do so, with a tax breaks. Is that what you call spreading of the wealth , i don't think so! I just don't understand how people, mostly Republicans I know, can just follow someone's words without figuring it out for them selves, or having their own opinion. Do some research so you don't look like an idiot. No, they let someone tell them how to think. I just wish people would do some research before they typed up words to be put on such a public forum. It really makes me Sad!
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Exactly right.. which is why neither of them should get our votes. BOTH voted in support of the socialist "Bailout." Vote 3rd party and send Washington a message.
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Joey: that was the most incomprehensible gobblygook I've ever read. "The truth is that you assume that money will be taxed from you and given to people who don't deserve it. When in-fact unless you own your own business or make over like 200 grand a year you will either get a tax break or stay the same." What? I think you are trying to say that only people who make over $200,000/year (which was $250,000 at one point, and Biden's now saying $150,000) need to worry about higher taxes. And the business owners... the rest of us will be getting "tax cuts." Now explain to me how 95% of Americans will get tax cuts when approximately 35% don't pay any federal income tax? Do those 35% deserve a tax cut when they don't actually pay anything? What Obama is proposing is taking money from the 65% that pay taxes and giving it to the 35% who don't. This reaches far deeper than just those making $150,000/year, so we all should be worried.
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By the way, he's not really the modern Robin Hood. Robin Hood took from the rich that which was stolen from the poor and gave it back to the poor. Obama is taking from the rich, middle class, and the poor, and giving it to the government.
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GREAT ARTICLE. Poeple are idiots. By saying that he is for the middle class, Obama is grabbing the attention of the majority of people and that is all he is trying to do; get votes. Look at his policies. In reality, some of them are not even possible, plus Biden has voted the exact opposite of Obama in many cases. He simply votes the most liberal in every single case. He is nothing more than a good public speaker with NO experience and terrible values and he is trying to play off of people wanting Change in this country. Do a little research about his past too.
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Does anyone in here know anything about taxes? Lets look at a few facts about taxes... we currently use a progressive tax system, whereby the poor are taxed a smaller percentage that the middle class, the middle class less that the rich. All of this money goes to the government to help pay for programs that everyone uses (healthcare, transportation, defense, education, etc). Therefore, the current administration is spreading the wealth as well. If you dont want to spread the wealth, too bad, you have done it before if you've ever paid taxes so you are all "socialists." Tax cuts for 95 percent of americans does not include the entire population. In order to receive a tax cut, you must pay taxes. How can you cut something when that something is zero?
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WOW, you are really ignorant of the reality of living in America!! You mustve grown up rich, because reality check but - poor people arent lazy, they are trying to SURVIVE. Being born into generational poverty is extremely different than growing up in generational wealth. "Minimum wage" is not even a living wage - people have to work 2-3 jobs just to make enough money to feed their families! Plus, welfare has time limits if you didnt realize, so people cant just spend their lives mooching. There are some people at the bottom that abuse the system, but look at ALL of the people at the TOP that abuse the system, finding loopholes to stay as rich as possible and scheming to pay less taxes. You have to realize that people start at different places depending on what situation they are born into, how much money their parents make, and where they live. Everyone deserves a chance, and I agree that moochers should be stopped, but so should those corporate CEOS and rich people that screw the system too!!
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What's wrong with equal income? Why should some big fat business man make more than I do at McDonalds? LOL!!1 I work hard two days a week (when I'm not watching People's Court on TV). I also can't support my crack habit and pay for my 10 illegitimate kids. THIS IS GEORGE W. BUSH'S FAULT. I can't wait for the Messiah to take office
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How did Collegiate Times approve this dribble? You can disagree with Obama's plan, you can even call him a socialist, just so long as your arguments have at least some grounding in truth. You don't say anything about Obama's plan or how you interpret it to be an increase in welfare provisions besides saying "he said spread the wealth! Commie!". Your crassly neoliberalist argument is merely a repeat of the tired (& untrue) idea that welfare just helps lazy people who don't want to work. This is what Rush Limbaugh & Sean Hannity will tell you...but you might want to look at the facts, because they don't.
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