Anyone going to the Chicago Tax Day Tea Party?

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tweaker2

Lifer
Aug 5, 2000
14,475
6,896
136
I'd say these tea parties would have more leg to stand on if it weren't for the fact that these are extraordinary times that require extraordinary measures to overcome.

Hey, I'm all for excersizing one's rights, free speech, the right to assemble, etc. but it seems as if what's being ignored here is that the measures Pres. Obama is pursuing is in response to that holy freak'in financial mess that the Bush Admin. dropped in his lap.

It's not as if what he's proposing would have been asked for had the economy not been in its present crisis mode, nor is it unreasonable for Pres. Obama to ask for more patience and open mindedness as he has done on numerous occasions.

I give praise to those who would go out of their way and spend the time and effort to express their views through public demonstrations and I have absolutely no problem with that at all. Hey, if you feel the urge, then go for it.;)

However, it seems to me that these demonstrations are premature, are being hijacked, strongly influenced and sensationalized by the repubs for their own interests and that there won't be too much good coming out of these demonstrations in the way of finding a much better course of action toward recovering our economy, if that is the reason these demonstrations are being held. I'm assuming that because on many sites that I visited, that is what their stated and/or implied intentions are.

Up to this point in time, I haven't heard or read about a single miracle plan from any one of those who are criticizing Pres. Obama's emergency measures that would solve our present economic crisis without an extended period of pain and suffering by the middle class and the poor.

Again I have to reiterate: I feel that protesting Pres. Obama's emegency measures is just fine if that's what these protests are all about. (Is it?) And I think it's good to excersize one's rights without infringing on the rights of others.

It's just that for a lot of folks, they're protesting for the wrong reasons, or for reasons that they're not being sincere about.







 

palehorse

Lifer
Dec 21, 2005
11,521
0
76
Originally posted by: jpeyton
Why would anyone go to this?

I imagine it'll be a lot like watching a Faux News show live.
People would go to it in an effort to voice their concerns over the out-of-control spending habits that have taken over every party in Washington... if that's something you don't give a shit about, then so be it. But, many people, from both sides of the aisle, believe that such protests are long overdue.
 

DealMonkey

Lifer
Nov 25, 2001
13,136
1
0
Originally posted by: jpeyton
Why would anyone go to this?

I imagine it'll be a lot like watching a Faux News show live.

I can't wait for the footage. It's sure to be chock full of crazy. :)
 

marincounty

Diamond Member
Nov 16, 2005
3,227
5
76
Originally posted by: palehorse
Originally posted by: eskimospy
I never commented on whether or not I thought they were on the right side of the issue. (I don't, but whatever).
It's nice to know that you believe that our Federal Government's current spending habits are just peachy.

Isn't your job paid for by the govt? I suggest a 10% cut in all govt paychecks, and for contractors also. Everyone needs to share the pain.
 

palehorse

Lifer
Dec 21, 2005
11,521
0
76
Originally posted by: marincounty
Originally posted by: palehorse
Originally posted by: eskimospy
I never commented on whether or not I thought they were on the right side of the issue. (I don't, but whatever).
It's nice to know that you believe that our Federal Government's current spending habits are just peachy.

Isn't your job paid for by the govt? I suggest a 10% cut in all govt paychecks, and for contractors also. Everyone needs to share the pain.
:confused:
 

bamacre

Lifer
Jul 1, 2004
21,030
2
61
Originally posted by: bamacre
As for the protesting, the subject of the OP, it's basically useless. Sure have some fun, but it's not going to change one damn thing. The only kinds of protests that have proven to be effective aren't even legal anymore. I'm sorry if the truth hurts, but in order for protesting to be effective, they have to be disruptive. It's a must. How disruptive can one be in a "free speech zone?" Not very.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNXkqKmFpEw
 

ccbadd

Senior member
Jan 19, 2004
456
0
76
Originally posted by: Perknose
Originally posted by: Hecubus2000
Originally posted by: marincounty
Originally posted by: Genx87
Because we had deficit spending under Bush people cant be disgusted or protest increased spending under Obama? That is ludicrous!

We had 20 years of huge deficits under Republican administrations, Reagan, GHWB, and GWB, and I never heard a peep of Tea parties.

Three months of Obama trying to clean up the mess left by the Republicans,and OMG he is taxing us to death!

Maybe you can figure out why those on the left are laughing at you.

This more than a Republican and Democrat thing. Stop trying to paint it as such.

His question is, where were these same people during the 20 years of runaway Republican deficits.

Where were they during the last 8 years or unrestrained spending?

Can you answer that question?

Maybe they were working hard, getting home tired, and not having anything left to truly researching these issues like they need to be. I know a lot of hard working people who rarely, if ever, watch anything other than the evening news, don't listen to talk radio as it just makes them mad, and walk away from political talks as they know both parties are complete crooks and liars. These are the people who are getting fed up and don't fit in with either the left or right wing groups. This is what the left is really afraid of, and would have scared the right also had they been the ones in power.
 

Genx87

Lifer
Apr 8, 2002
41,095
513
126
Originally posted by: eskimospy
Originally posted by: rudder
Originally posted by: eskimospy
Originally posted by: Andrew1990
Well, no matter what party started it or who did what, you guys do have to agree the government may be a tad out of control on the spending.

Both parties are to be blamed, one more than the other depending on your views.

Nope, I don't agree that the government is out of control on spending.

For my children's and grandchildren's sake, pull you head out of your ass.



"We will each and every one of us have to compromise on certain things we care about, but which we simply cannot afford right now. That's a sacrifice we're going to have to make," Obama said.
.... as he munched on his wagyu beef.

Debt to GDP ratio is what's important, and I think we'll end up just fine in that regard. It's been much higher in the past, and other countries function just fine with higher debt/GDP ratios.

By the end of Obama's first term if CBO estimates hold up we will enter triple digit debt\gdp ratio. Raising it from ~67% to +100% in 4 years. The only other time we entered triple digit debt\gdp was during a fucking World War.

Name one country that is doing fine with triple digit debt\gdp ratio? Japan and Italy are the only western countries I know with triple digit debt\gdp and their economies are stagnant. What is Japan on their 7th stimulus bill? Should be something we learn from, not copy.


 

Dari

Lifer
Oct 25, 2002
17,134
38
91
If you don't like/want increase taxes, demand that the government lower services.
 

EXman

Lifer
Jul 12, 2001
20,079
15
81
Originally posted by: Phokus
Drop a cluster bomb on these idiots and cleanse the gene pool.

And this is why the dems are screwed narrow mindedness. And the love of big government telling them what to do.
 

EXman

Lifer
Jul 12, 2001
20,079
15
81
Originally posted by: DealMonkey
Originally posted by: daniel49
Originally posted by: DealMonkey
What? Did Congress raise taxes and I somehow missed it?

likely, you seem to miss a lot of other things.

Oh rly? So you have a link to where Congress raised taxes then I presume?

wake up and smell what you are shoveling is there a state in the country that is run by the dems (or Arnold) that isn't raising taxes? My state we just got many new tax hikes Apr 1st. NY just had a bunch. CA sales tax went up 1%.

Obama's Budget: Almost $1 Trillion in New Taxes Over Next 10 yrs, Starting 2011.
1) On people making more than $250,000.

$338 billion - Bush tax cuts expire
$179 billlion - eliminate itemized deduction
$118 billion - capital gains tax hike

Total: $636 billion/10 years

2) Businesses:

$17 billion - Reinstate Superfund taxes
$24 billion - tax carried-interest as income
$5 billion - codify "economic substance doctrine"
$61 billion - repeal LIFO
$210 billion - international enforcement, reform deferral, other tax reform
$4 billion - information reporting for rental payments
$5.3 billion - excise tax on Gulf of Mexico oil and gas
$3.4 billion - repeal expensing of tangible drilling costs
$62 million - repeal deduction for tertiary injectants
$49 million - repeal passive loss exception for working interests in oil and natural gas properties
$13 billion - repeal manufacturing tax deduction for oil and natural gas companies
$1 billion - increase to 7 years geological and geophysical amortization period for independent producers
$882 million - eliminate advanced earned income tax credit

Total: $353 billion/10 years


Do you pay attention to much other than deals? Do you like paying taxes? Do you like paying for other peoples rent while they buy big screen TV's and Ipods?
 

yllus

Elite Member & Lifer
Aug 20, 2000
20,577
432
126
Originally posted by: palehorse
These protests have nothing to do with any one particular political party, and everything to do with standing up against out-of-control government spending. Period.

Doesn't look that way.

Tea Parties Forever

One way to get a good sense of the current state of the G.O.P., and also to see how little has really changed, is to look at the ?tea parties? that have been held in a number of places already, and will be held across the country on Wednesday. These parties ? antitaxation demonstrations that are supposed to evoke the memory of the Boston Tea Party and the American Revolution ? have been the subject of considerable mockery, and rightly so.

Thus, President Obama is being called a ?socialist? who seeks to destroy capitalism. Why? Because he wants to raise the tax rate on the highest-income Americans back to, um, about 10 percentage points less than it was for most of the Reagan administration. Bizarre.

Last but not least: it turns out that the tea parties don?t represent a spontaneous outpouring of public sentiment. They?re AstroTurf (fake grass roots) events, manufactured by the usual suspects. In particular, a key role is being played by FreedomWorks, an organization run by Richard Armey, the former House majority leader, and supported by the usual group of right-wing billionaires. And the parties are, of course, being promoted heavily by Fox News.

But that?s nothing new, and AstroTurf has worked well for Republicans in the past. The most notable example was the ?spontaneous? riot back in 2000 ? actually orchestrated by G.O.P. strategists ? that shut down the presidential vote recount in Florida?s Miami-Dade County.
 

palehorse

Lifer
Dec 21, 2005
11,521
0
76
Originally posted by: yllus
Originally posted by: palehorse
These protests have nothing to do with any one particular political party, and everything to do with standing up against out-of-control government spending. Period.

Doesn't look that way.

Tea Parties Forever

One way to get a good sense of the current state of the G.O.P., and also to see how little has really changed, is to look at the ?tea parties? that have been held in a number of places already, and will be held across the country on Wednesday. These parties ? antitaxation demonstrations that are supposed to evoke the memory of the Boston Tea Party and the American Revolution ? have been the subject of considerable mockery, and rightly so.

Thus, President Obama is being called a ?socialist? who seeks to destroy capitalism. Why? Because he wants to raise the tax rate on the highest-income Americans back to, um, about 10 percentage points less than it was for most of the Reagan administration. Bizarre.

Last but not least: it turns out that the tea parties don?t represent a spontaneous outpouring of public sentiment. They?re AstroTurf (fake grass roots) events, manufactured by the usual suspects. In particular, a key role is being played by FreedomWorks, an organization run by Richard Armey, the former House majority leader, and supported by the usual group of right-wing billionaires. And the parties are, of course, being promoted heavily by Fox News.

But that?s nothing new, and AstroTurf has worked well for Republicans in the past. The most notable example was the ?spontaneous? riot back in 2000 ? actually orchestrated by G.O.P. strategists ? that shut down the presidential vote recount in Florida?s Miami-Dade County.
Did you just use an editorial from the NY times as a cited reference in a debate? :confused:
 

yllus

Elite Member & Lifer
Aug 20, 2000
20,577
432
126
Originally posted by: palehorse
Originally posted by: yllus
Originally posted by: palehorse
These protests have nothing to do with any one particular political party, and everything to do with standing up against out-of-control government spending. Period.

Doesn't look that way.

Tea Parties Forever

One way to get a good sense of the current state of the G.O.P., and also to see how little has really changed, is to look at the ?tea parties? that have been held in a number of places already, and will be held across the country on Wednesday. These parties ? antitaxation demonstrations that are supposed to evoke the memory of the Boston Tea Party and the American Revolution ? have been the subject of considerable mockery, and rightly so.

Thus, President Obama is being called a ?socialist? who seeks to destroy capitalism. Why? Because he wants to raise the tax rate on the highest-income Americans back to, um, about 10 percentage points less than it was for most of the Reagan administration. Bizarre.

Last but not least: it turns out that the tea parties don?t represent a spontaneous outpouring of public sentiment. They?re AstroTurf (fake grass roots) events, manufactured by the usual suspects. In particular, a key role is being played by FreedomWorks, an organization run by Richard Armey, the former House majority leader, and supported by the usual group of right-wing billionaires. And the parties are, of course, being promoted heavily by Fox News.

But that?s nothing new, and AstroTurf has worked well for Republicans in the past. The most notable example was the ?spontaneous? riot back in 2000 ? actually orchestrated by G.O.P. strategists ? that shut down the presidential vote recount in Florida?s Miami-Dade County.
Did you just use an editorial from the NY times as a cited reference in a debate? :confused:

I most certainly did. Outrageous, aren't I? The New York Times! I'm sure Mr. Krugman simply made it all up.

The Tea Party Movement: Who's In Charge?

Here is the organizational landscape of the April 15 tea party movement, in a nutshell: three national-level conservative groups, all with slightly different agendas, are guiding it. All are quick to tell you that the movement is a bottom-up affair and that its grassroots cred is real.

They are: FreedomWorks, the conservative action group led by Dick Armey; dontGO, a tech savvy free-market action group that sprung out of last August's oil-drilling debate in the House of Representatives; and Americans for Prosperity, an issue advocacy/activist group based on free market principles. Conservative bloggers, talk show hosts, and other media figures have attached themselves to the movement in peripheral capacities. Armey will appear at a major rally in Atlanta, FreedomWorks said.

The movement is not tied to the Republican Party, group spokesmen said, despite a report that at least 10 House Republicans will be speaking at events across the country. Eric Odom, founder of dontGO, has infamously turned down a request from Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele to speak at the group's Chicago event.

Michelle Malkin, Sean Hannity, Republican congressmen, and most donation links for the tea parties go here. Very non-partisan.
 

yllus

Elite Member & Lifer
Aug 20, 2000
20,577
432
126
Originally posted by: palehorse
Originally posted by: yllus
Michelle Malkin, Sean Hannity, Republican congressmen, and most donation links for the tea parties https://www.freedomworks.org/contribute?form=c3">go here</a>. Very non-partisan.
Do you believe that the actual issue is non-partisan?

Are you satisfied with our Federal government's spending habits?

Just curious...

Oh, don't get me wrong - the idea in general is a good one. Well, I guess I can't even say that with full confidence. The excesses occurring today are worth protesting. However, your government originally spent itself into this mess in the last eight years - but only now that a Democrat administration (and a majority of expert opinion) thinks it's best to spend more to avoid economic collapse do self-identifying conservatives stage protests?

I couldn't attend and be able to stomach that kind of hypocrisy. It's probably helpful that it's happening as it'll hopefully scare your government into trying to scam a little less money than it would have scammed otherwise, but I'd leave the happy marching and clapping crap to the useful idiots.
 

OutHouse

Lifer
Jun 5, 2000
36,413
616
126
Originally posted by: EXman
Originally posted by: DealMonkey
Originally posted by: daniel49
Originally posted by: DealMonkey
What? Did Congress raise taxes and I somehow missed it?

likely, you seem to miss a lot of other things.

Oh rly? So you have a link to where Congress raised taxes then I presume?

wake up and smell what you are shoveling is there a state in the country that is run by the dems (or Arnold) that isn't raising taxes? My state we just got many new tax hikes Apr 1st. NY just had a bunch. CA sales tax went up 1%.

Obama's Budget: Almost $1 Trillion in New Taxes Over Next 10 yrs, Starting 2011.
1) On people making more than $250,000.

$338 billion - Bush tax cuts expire
$179 billlion - eliminate itemized deduction
$118 billion - capital gains tax hike

Total: $636 billion/10 years

2) Businesses:

$17 billion - Reinstate Superfund taxes
$24 billion - tax carried-interest as income
$5 billion - codify "economic substance doctrine"
$61 billion - repeal LIFO
$210 billion - international enforcement, reform deferral, other tax reform
$4 billion - information reporting for rental payments
$5.3 billion - excise tax on Gulf of Mexico oil and gas
$3.4 billion - repeal expensing of tangible drilling costs
$62 million - repeal deduction for tertiary injectants
$49 million - repeal passive loss exception for working interests in oil and natural gas properties
$13 billion - repeal manufacturing tax deduction for oil and natural gas companies
$1 billion - increase to 7 years geological and geophysical amortization period for independent producers
$882 million - eliminate advanced earned income tax credit

Total: $353 billion/10 years


Do you pay attention to much other than deals? Do you like paying taxes? Do you like paying for other peoples rent while they buy big screen TV's and Ipods?

LOL totally owned.

its not just the feds, i was in Indiana 2 weeks ago and that state now has the highest tax on alcohol than any state. i saw the news interviews and it pissed me off when some poltician said

"this tax only raised the price of a 6 pack of beer by 1cent."

thats not the point you moron, the point is all governments from local all the way to the feds are bleeding us dry of OUR money, either by tax hikes to out of control spending and it has to stop.

 

OutHouse

Lifer
Jun 5, 2000
36,413
616
126
"A government big enough to give you everything you want is a government big enough to take from you everything you have.

-Gerald Ford

 

OutHouse

Lifer
Jun 5, 2000
36,413
616
126
Originally posted by: DealMonkey
What? Did Congress raise taxes and I somehow missed it?

yea probably since you aren't done jerking off to Obama winning the election.