Comments for American Reality

Comment on To Spend or not to Spend: That is the Question by Neil Eslick

Neil Eslick — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 18:20:43 +0000

If you are planning a trip make sure you use http://www.1000travelsites.com to find the best prices for flights and hotels. They search pretty much every travel provider on the web in a matter of seconds! Then they list the prices from all of the travel providers on one page so you definitely get the lowest price every time. I’ve tried other sites like this before, but this one aways has the most listings and the best prices. It’s like the google of travel searches.

Comment on Goodbye Old Buddy by Jonathan Simeone

Jonathan Simeone — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 18:31:21 +0000

For some reason I decided to read this post again. Even though it almost made me cry I’m glad I did. I am learning ti live without you old buddy, but I still think about you all the time. I sure wish we could have one more walk.

Comment on Our Selfishness has led to our Deficit by Jonathan Simeone

Jonathan Simeone — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 21:51:11 +0000

Are you alright? Previously, your comments made some sense, but this one…. How does regulating people’s ability to avoid paying taxes they rightfully owe compare with mass murderers? Can you at least try and make an intelligent argument? That’s the problem with conservatives–their arguments, for the most part, can not be supported by reason.

Comment on Our Selfishness has led to our Deficit by jonolan

jonolan — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 21:43:18 +0000

Yeah,

That worked so well under Hitler, Stalin and Mao. ;) Long before that could happen in America, the real Americans would rise up and exterminate all who advocated for such things unto the last of their misborn children.

You might want to remember that…

Comment on Our Selfishness has led to our Deficit by Jonathan Simeone

Jonathan Simeone — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 19:55:26 +0000

The wealthy could only move their money if we continue allowing them to do so. All we need to do is change the law so that they are not allowed to do so.

Comment on Our Selfishness has led to our Deficit by jonolan

jonolan — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 18:50:37 +0000

Raising taxes won’t help. The corporations, and the wealthiest 5% will just move their money, their businesses and the jobs those businesses create, and likely themselves somewhere with less punitive taxation.

The problem is the number and level of “services” semi-unconstitutionally provided by the federal government. Remove them and the deficit becomes relatively easy to reduce at the current taxation levels or even lower (would stimulate business and create more tz revenue).

There would be sacrifices though. The states have gotten too used to the feds funding state projects.

Comment on Islam is a Disgusting Religion by maplesyrup21

maplesyrup21 — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 09:19:30 +0000

umm.. wtf?

Comment on How Much are Taxpayers Paying to subsidize car Travel? by Free Traveling » How Much are Taxpayers Paying to subsidize car Travel?

Free Traveling » How Much are Taxpayers Paying to subsidize car Travel? — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 16:39:26 +0000

[...] Source [...]

Comment on The Home Buyer Tax Credit is a Waste of Money by Karla

Karla — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 00:26:45 +0000

That’s true, but the problem you seem to have with the tax credit is that even when it’s working “properly,” realtors and banks will get a big cut of the action because that’s what happens whenever someone buys a home, and the credit will (as it’s supposed to do) encourage some people to buy homes who would not otherwise have done so. However, the fraud that this article is talking about is something entirely different: people claiming the credit (like four-year-olds) who never bought a home, people claiming the credit because they say they’re going to buy a home but the federal government never checking to see if they really bought one or not, and 75% of home buyers claiming the credit who said they would have bought the home anyway (and thus would have given their business to a realtor and/or mortgage lender whether the tax credit was in place or not). This article is saying that people are cheating the system; your gripe is that the government shouldn’t be rewarding/incentivizing home ownership because home ownership (particularly home ownership by people who couldn’t really afford the homes they’d bought) was at the root of the economic crisis we’re still trying to dig our way out of. The fact that people cheating the system is bad is pretty basic and something i think all of us (except people who want to commit fraud) can get behind. If that’s the problem, then the answer is better enforcement as I said, and if that isn’t possible then maybe the tax credit does have to go. But what you’re saying is far more controversial (many people still do think of owning a home as part of the American dream) and, because it’s more controversial, it’s also honestly far more interesting. So don’t confuse the issue by mixing two different arguments in the same post.

Comment on The Home Buyer Tax Credit is a Waste of Money by Jonathan Simeone

Jonathan Simeone — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 19:28:14 +0000

Karla, Thanks for visiting my blog and sharing your opinion. With all due respect, however, I must disagree. If you accept the numbers as real then we can assume that somewhere around 300 thousand Americans bought homes they would not have purchased without the tax credit. Since the vast majority of those homes were purchahsed with the assistance of realtors at a usual cost of seven percent of the value of the sold homes we know that the credit made realtors a bunch of money they would not have made without it. If someone defrauds Social Security they are costing the taxpayers money and maybe making a lawyer a few bucks. No one, however, is earning the kind of money the realtors are making off the credit.