As for the sales tax aspect, I was also a small retailer for 30 years. Sales tax is a consumption tax and therefore (except on necessities) a "progressive" tax. That is, it taxes items that you can afford to buy (the thinking goes) and if you cannot afford to buy, you should not buy. So the tax won't hurt you financially if you can afford the item. (I won't go into the psychology of overextended buying thanks to credit cards). An unprogressive tax, like one on food, taxes you regardless of ability to pay.

You guys need to go visit this site - it's populated by devious, yet hilarious 'scam-baiters' who respond to the semi-literate scam artists with other come-ons and requests to do silly stuff that the scammers, not knowing any better, do. They send back pictures of themselves holding signs (in English) that, well, don't paint them in very good light sometimes. The site has pictures, email-correspondence threads, a forum for posting experiences, and much more. It's a hoot. Check out the "letters archive" and the "hall of shame".

http://www.419eater.com

First, in regards to the unions, what are you talking about? All the Act says is that if you have private insurance nothing changes. That's it. I'm in a union, and nothing changes for me. No one is forcing anyone with insurance to change a thing. Another right wing lie.

As to the China thing. Everyone on the right screams about the debt and China. How may of you own your homes outright without have had a mortgage? How many of you bought your cars for cash? Borrowing in and of itself is not a bad thing. In fact, now is a GREAT time for the government to be borrowing money for stimulus since interest rates are almost zero. It's like free money.

And China actually holds very little of our debt as a percentage. I have to research it further, but the last time I looked China held less than 10% of our debt. I'll check it out later when I have more time. More right wing fear-mongering about the yellow hordes that are going to own this country - just like we said about the Japanese a few decades ago.

you "spelling correctors" sure take the fun out of this forum.

i am sure there is a forum out there for self righteous jerks. oops, did i spell jerks correctly?

so stupid.

if that's all you have to do all day is search til you find a mispelling, i fell really sorry for you.

life is fun...photography is fun.....this forum is fun.....get a life and take some pickchures.

(i realize that i mispelled pictures.....did i get under your skin? i certainly hope so)...i will definitely be spelling lens as lense from now on.