Fait_Maker

Please post your formula to decide how much someone needs. I'm interested in how you decide what the doctor needs as opposed to someone of my stature <$40k for my household of 2 incomes>. For example, does your formula take into account for college tuition? If so, how much does he need? How much do I get to count as a need?

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CaveDog

Which is excactly what I think is wrong with the system. Who decides that I can do without ~30% of my income. Am I getting ~30% worth of services? Who knows, who cares, that isn't up for debate, we just pay it.

I never said that I support this, it is only my interpretation of the current US tax laws. I'm not a lawyer, just a lowly software engineer. I'm only stating the opionion of a lay-person. And every time that I've stated it, I've made it pretty clear that I wasn't totally on board with the concept.

That being said, I don't have a plan of what would be better.

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--
CaveDog
"Go sell crazy somewhere else... we're all stocked up here."

_Ender_

And you dont see a problem with that?

leejo

It depends on what you mean by "rich" but I don't see a problem at all. The President is operating on the highest level of politics and power, managing the largest budget on the planet, and directing the actions of millions of employees. Short of clergy, positions of responsibility and leadership tend to pay well, so the person who has the experience and ability to become President will have made a wad.

Or married a wad.

_Ender_

Oh so to be President you can be stupid, but not poor... interesting...

fr1j0l3

That's a good start.

Not sure if it's feasible logisticly, but I like the concept.

USN_Squid

Just in case you missed it the first couple times....I love posting this link :

www.fairtax.org

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Geisha

One of my favorite concepts (it would NEVER happen) I ran across in a David Eddings novel (I don't know who really originated the idea). There's a small island republic where no one actually wants to be president. In this fantasy setting, the president is encouraged to balance the government budget by being forced to pool all his personal assets with the government treasury during his tenure. In the US we really have no penalties for being a mediocre or even a bad president (assuming actions can't be proved illegal). You just stop being president but still get secret service and some kind of stipend, I think?

leejo

Ender, I don't know what the man has to do to prove that he's not stupid. He has degrees from Harvard and Yale. He was a fighter pilot. He IS President. How many stupid Harvard AND Yale grads do you know, and how many stupid fighter jocks? He sure stupid-ed his way into the most powerful position in the world.

Read Bob Woodward's "Bush At War" and see if you still misunderestimate the guy.

_Ender_

Bush was the privledged son of a Congress man, are you going to turn him away? He has said it in speechs that he was a "C Student". How many C students do you know attend Yale? Or Harvard? The simple fact is a lot of these schools have a long-standing policies to allow the children of alumni to receive preferential treatment, its called the "legacy preference". Yale does it, Harvard does it, all of these elite schools do it. Old W didnt get in because he was smart (he has even said that he isnt all that smart), he got in because his daddy went there and still donates to them.

According to this artical Bush barely made pilot. He scored in the 25th percentile as a pilot, which was barely passing. So please, dont make him out to be some big time figher pilot. Because somebody puts on the suit and flys during the weekend, doesnt make you a fighter pilot.

From what I have read about that book, the whole thing is a he said\she said that somebody told them about. Not something you want to base an opinion on..

BTW: Being "President" doesnt mean you're smart... it just means you're rich enough to run.

leejo

I knew a guy who said that Troy Aikman was a terrible quarterback, never mind the three super bowl rings and the MVP trophy. He was a fool.

Here's the rest of the quote from your article ( and a little extra from the same article):

"He evidently scored in the 25th percentile as a pilot (qualifying, but just barely), in the 50th percentile as a navigator (promising material), and in the 95th percentile as an officer (outstanding)."

"Says a frankly anti-Bush article in the Washington Post: "In December 1969, George W. returned to Houston to hone his skills and eventually fly solo on the all-weather F-102, firing its weapons and conducting intercept missions against supersonic targets. He learned with a verve that impressed his superiors, becoming the the first hometown graduate of the 147th's newly established Combat Crew Training School."

"For his second year in the Air Guard, his records credit him with 313 days of service."

"I can't of course judge him as a pilot, except to doff my hat to anyone who handle a 16-ton warplane at 800 mph. By the time Bush left the Guard, 70 pilots had been killed flying the F-102. As fighter pilot Ed Rasimus points out: "Every time you kick the tires and light the fire in a single-engine, single-seat Century Series jet, it can kill you--all by itself without help from an enemy."

I sure wish some of GWB's stupid would rub off on me.

USN_Squid

"It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by the dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions and spends himself in a worthy course; who at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who, at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly; so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory or defeat."
THEODORE ROOSEVELT
(Paris Sorbonne,1910)

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leejo

Roosevelt was stupid.

DeRanger

...and at the end of the day is content knowing that whatever happens he'll still be coddled by filthy stinking rich friends and family and rolling in a whole ****load of oil money.

luna

What on earth happened to having a healthy debate that didn't boil down to meaningless insults that contribute nothing to the discussion?

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