Rank the issues

#1
lawgator1

lawgator1

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#1
CNN has a poll up where you rank your top ten issues for the '12 election. I voted.

Not scientific, by any means, but interesting.

The current top 10:

1 Economy
2 National debt
3 Health care
4 Taxes
5 Education
6 Help the middle class
7 State of politics
8 Government reform
9 Energy & environment
10 National security


My own top 10:

1 Help the middle class
2 Housing
3 Economy
4 Campaign finance
5 Education
6 Government reform
7 Taxes
8 State of politics
9 Social security
10 Strength of leadership
 
#3
#3
So many of these overlap... Improving the economy will help the middle class. Lowering taxes, government reform, and national debt all go hand-in-hand.
 
#4
#4
golfballs said:
So many of these overlap... Improving the economy will help the middle class. Lowering taxes, government reform, and national debt all go hand-in-hand.
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True. I gather they picked these labels based on some sort of preliminary questions asked of people. And for example I voted "housing" way high because I think we need to stabilize housing markets and have some mortgage reforms for purposes of economic improvement. I am not referring to housing projects, for example.
 
#5
#5
The current Top 10 looks pretty good to me - I might move energy/env up a bit but otherwise that list looks accurate to my views.
 
#7
#7
On second thought, I'd take "help the middle class" off my list.

I'd rather see the government stick to macro issues rather than targeting specific groups for "help"
 
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#8
#8
Economy
National debt
Taxes
Housing
Strength of leadership
Health care
Government reform
Social security
Energy & environment
State of politics
 
#10
#10
Well social security and Medicare need to be taken off and just included in the debt talks. Those are the biggest issues.

Debt and economy are 1-2
 
#14
#14
1 Economy
2 National debt
3 Health care
4 Taxes
5 Education
6 Help the middle class
7 State of politics
8 Government reform
9 Energy & environment
10 National security

Ok, this leaves me with:

1. Government reform
2. Taxes
3. National Debt
4. National Security

The government need not concern itself with all the other BS; the fact that it concerned itself with those things in the first place is what has resulted in the sham that is the United States Federal Government.
 
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#15
#15
1 Economy
2 National debt
3 Education
4 Energy
5 National security
6 Taxes
7 Health care
8 State of politics
9 Environment
10 Government reform

I eliminated helping the middle class because if you take care of the top 4 the middle class is helped. I also split energy-environment, two different issues.
 
#16
#16
therealUT said:
1 Economy
2 National debt
3 Health care
4 Taxes
5 Education
6 Help the middle class
7 State of politics
8 Government reform
9 Energy & environment
10 National security

Ok, this leaves me with:

1. Government reform
2. Taxes
3. National Debt
4. National Security

The government need not concern itself with all the other BS; the fact that it concerned itself with those things in the first place is what has resulted in the sham that is the United States Federal Government.
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Agreed, but one could argue energy and environmnet falls under the envelope of national security. Otherwise, spot on. Addressing the 4 you named would indirectly help 95% of all our current problems.
 
#17
#17
I think we need to do something short term for the middle class, to spur demand and growth. Not on the level of some kind of $200 tax break, either. Don't know what, exactly, but something to create some spark.
 
#18
#18
lawgator1 said:
I think we need to do something short term for the middle class, to spur demand and growth. Not on the level of some kind of $200 tax break, either. Don't know what, exactly, but something to create some spark.
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I get what you are saying, but in the end, the government needs to stay out of it. No more bailouts, special deals, or stimulus. Every time...every single time...the government decides to do something like that they screw it up and the taxpayers end up paying more in the end.
 
#19
#19
lawgator1 said:
I think we need to do something short term for the middle class, to spur demand and growth. Not on the level of some kind of $200 tax break, either. Don't know what, exactly, but something to create some spark.
Click to expand...

We do need to do something for the middle class: eliminate either the capital gains tax or the corporate income tax, or both, while simultaneously eliminating the federal minimum wage. That would create a huge spark, America would once again attract industry, jobs would be widely available, and the price of goods would drop drastically.
 
#21
#21
Government reform is needed, but will not happen. There is way too much money involved.
 
#22
#22
therealUT said:
We do need to do something for the middle class: eliminate either the capital gains tax or the corporate income tax, or both, while simultaneously eliminating the federal minimum wage. That would create a huge spark, America would once again attract industry, jobs would be widely available, and the price of goods would drop drastically.
Click to expand...


LOL, wut?

Eliminating the capital gains tax would primarily help the top. Help to the middle class would be minimal, at best, and very very slow.

Eliminating the corporate income tax will similarly not provide any immediate help to the middle class. If at all. Ever.

Eliminating the minimum wage would mean nothing to the middle class. All it would do, if at all, is open up more incredibly low paying jobs for the disenfranchised.

The middle class needs some of their income freed up to spend on goods and services, the provision of which sparks commerce and more hiring, stabilizes credit markets, increases confidence, promotes investment in production, etc.

Eliminate the Bush tax cuts for those households making over $500,000 a year and, with whatever that generates, make corresponding cut in taxes of those making $50,000 to $200,000 a year.
 
#23
#23
lawgator1 said:
LOL, wut?

Eliminating the capital gains tax would primarily help the top. Help to the middle class would be minimal, at best, and very very slow.

Eliminating the corporate income tax will similarly not provide any immediate help to the middle class. If at all. Ever.

Eliminating the minimum wage would mean nothing to the middle class. All it would do, if at all, is open up more incredibly low paying jobs for the disenfranchised.

The middle class needs some of their income freed up to spend on goods and services, the provision of which sparks commerce and more hiring, stabilizes credit markets, increases confidence, promotes investment in production, etc.

Eliminate the Bush tax cuts for those households making over $500,000 a year and, with whatever that generates, make corresponding cut in taxes of those making $50,000 to $200,000 a year.
Click to expand...

You could not be further from the truth. Taking the measures I advocated would make the United States one of, if not the, most industry friendly nations in the world. Industry would return, production would soar, cost of goods would drop, and all of this requires labor. The more jobs there are the better off the entire economy will be, from the wealthiest capitalist to the poorest proletariat.

The measures that you advocate either punish those who are putting capital into production, thus ultimately either getting rid of jobs or driving up cost of goods sold, or they simply decrease the value of the dollar, ultimately either getting rid of jobs or driving up the real costs of goods sold. Either way, you are hurting the middle class much more than you are hurting the wealthy.

In fact, here is a hint for all the class-warfare-ists out there: they cannot substantially hurt the wealthy and when they try, they hurt the middle class the most. Might as well stop trying to just hurt the wealthy, read an actual economics text (not Keynesians bull**** where he thinks he can provide formulas and reduce the concept of money to merely a piece of paper or coin that is fungible independent of any connection to production/resources), and move the entire economy in the right direction (which will always rely on deregulation and a laissez-faire approach). Or, we can be Greece.
 
#25
#25
lawgator1 said:
CNN has a poll up where you rank your top ten issues for the '12 election. I voted.

Not scientific, by any means, but interesting.

The current top 10:

1 Economy
2 National debt
3 Health care
4 Taxes
5 Education
6 Help the middle class
7 State of politics
8 Government reform
9 Energy & environment
10 National security
Click to expand...

OMG, this drives me nuts. This is the basis for class warfare. We divide ourselves into groups, and forget that protecting individuals, not groups, is the best policy.
 
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