overthemoon Loc: Wisconsin

and that is black mail. It was reported that most americans like most of the health care plan but some of it needs to be tweeked. Rodmey has had this same health care plan in place in his state before Obama passed the health care bill where do you think Obama got the frame work for health care. I think this is more about how much they hate the pres then really wanting to do the work.

Bmac Loc: Long Island, NY

Ahhh....well put. :roll:

BW326 Loc: Boynton Beach, Florida

That 'part owner' must have been on the 49% of ownership of that corporation (the article didn't say). Also, the corporation was said to be 'world-wide' and it didn't state whether the 1,000 people slated for layoff are in the US or not. If they are, fortunately they will have Obamacare to fall back on, otherwise they might really be screwed.

Similar proclamations from companies like 'Papa Johns', who said he's going to have to layoff because Obamacare will cost him $8,000,000 have been countered by Peyton Manning's generous offer to withdraw the free 2,000,000 pizzas that he snookered Papa into.

Manning was quoted as saying, "Jeez Papa, I'd much rather you gave your employees decent healthcare than another stinkin' free pizza."

overthemoon Loc: Wisconsin

:thumbup:

stncarpanus Loc: NJ

Great post! I am so tired of those who vote Republican calling those of us who didn't "people who want stuff". I live in NJ, the state which almost always receives back from the federal government the least amount of money compared to what we pay in. I have never been on welfare or unemployment, but I still proudly voted for President Obama in both elections.

To those who keep saying that the country has been in terrible shape over the last four years and will only get worse, please explain what you mean. From my point of view, the last four years were far better than the previous eight. The country did not start any new wars in those four years and we have ended one of the ones we were already in, with a timeline to end the other one. Instead of plunging into a recession the economy has been recovering from the worst financial crisis since the 1930s.

Yes, the national debt is bad and has gotten worse since the president took office. But much of the reason it got worse was to pay for the wars we were already in, and another part of the reason was to keep the recession from becoming a depression. But when taxes are raised on the people who can very easily afford it, and some of the tax loopholes are closed on the mega-corporations that also can easily afford it, the debt will begin to go down. Even more importantly, as the economy improves and more and more people return to the workforce, their taxes will lower the debt even more.

Personally, I used to vote solely Republican in elections. I stopped doing so because I feel the Republican Party has become too radicalized, too religious, too pro-business, at the expense of the actual individuals in this country.


Dana Milbank
Opinion Writer
The Confederacy of Takers

President Obama’s opponents have unwittingly come up with a brilliant plan to avoid the “fiscal cliff.” They want to secede from the union.

If Obama were serious about being a good steward of the nation’s finances, he’d let them.

The White House, in one of those astro-turf efforts that make people feel warm about small-d democracy, launched a “We the People” program on its Web site last year, allowing Americans to petition their government for a redress of grievances. Any petition that receives 25,000 or more signatures within 30 days is promised a response (though not necessarily a favorable one) from the Obama administration.

And so a large number of patriotic Americans, mostly from states won by Mitt Romney last week, have petitioned the White House to let them secede. They should be careful about what they wish for. It would be excellent financial news for those of us left behind if Obama were to grant a number of the rebel states their wish “to withdraw from the United States and create [their] own NEW government” (the petitions emphasize “new” by capitalizing it).

Red states receive, on average, far more from the federal government in expenditures than they pay in taxes. The balance is the opposite in blue states. The secession petitions, therefore, give the opportunity to create what would be, in a fiscal sense, a far more perfect union.

Among those states with large numbers of petitioners asking out: Louisiana (more than 28,000 signatures at midday Tuesday), which gets about $1.45 in federal largess for every $1 it pays in taxes; Alabama (more than 20,000 signatures), which takes $1.71 for every $1 it puts in; South Carolina (26,000), which takes $1.38 for its dollar; and Missouri (22,000), which takes $1.29 for its dollar.

Since the effort gained attention this week, copycats in all but a few states have joined the petition drive. To be fair, White House officials could refuse the secession petitions of states Obama won, such as New York (which gets only 79 cents on its tax dollar), Michigan (85 cents) and Colorado (79 cents).

What would be left is a Confederacy of Takers, including relatively poor states such as Alaska, West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas and Mississippi. One of the few would-be Confederacy members that pays more than it receives is Texas, which because of oil money is roughly break-even at 94 cents of benefits for its tax dollar. (The statistics, from an analysis of tax and revenue data by the nonpartisan Tax Foundation, were published in 2006, but the broad pattern doesn’t vary much over time.)

Depending on how aggressive a fiscal hawk he wishes to be, Obama could also try to offload onto the Confederacy of the Takers North and South Dakota and Montana ($1.73, $1.49 and $1.58 in benefits, respectively), but this would probably only work if Canada agreed to allow overflight rights for American aircraft to reach the West Coast states of Washington, Oregon and California (88 cents, 97 cents and 79 cents on their tax dollars, respectively).

Possibly, the new United States would need to negotiate certain protectorates in the Confederacy — Austin, New Orleans, South Florida and the like — the way the British did in Hong Kong. Then there is the awkward matter of what the breakaway nation would do to its poor.

But once the handout states left the union (and took with them a proportionate share of the federal debt), the rest of the country could enjoy lower taxes and the high level of government service typical of the Northeast, the Great Lakes and the West Coast.

There would also be non-financial benefits. Tampa’s Central Command, now caught up in the David Petraeus sex scandal, would be the new nation’s problem. And the exit of several Southern representatives from Congress would give Democrats a solid governing majority.

Of course, secession isn’t as easy or as painless as an electronic petition, and Obama couldn’t offer a redress of these petitioners’ grievances even if he wanted to. Nor should he want to: The Union of the Makers would be fiscally healthy but spiritually poor without the Confederacy of the Takers.

Yet would-be rebels from the red states should keep in mind during the coming budget battle that those who are most ardent about cutting government spending tend to come from parts of the country that most rely on it.

Twitter: @milbank[/quote]

Hunter Lou 1947 Loc: Minnesota

That's why Romney would not have been the right person to be President. He touted wanting lies to the public in hopes that the electort would be gulliable. Well, Romney, if you would of just denounced the far right wingers you would have achieved victory. The American people showed you Mr. Romney they are smarter than you think and wanted a leader with leadership skills not a leader who leads from behind. You lost and now get over it. You failed your party and even yourself.

Robbie7 Loc: Northampton. England

Here we go again..Sorry but I have to point out again, until you realise that its not just the USA re your comment "across the country" it's all of us, Brits included. What the USA does affects us all, what Europe does affects us all and so on. The news here is that America is 16 trillion dollars in dept and leaking 1 trillion a year. How that is put right I dont know. Historically China has a habit of imploding maybe, maybe not in this case. Being the strongest Military in the world is not the long term solution, just ask Russia. Its predicted that in less than 5 years America will be the third super power behind China and India. We used to be no 1, not now..Learn to live with it.

Bmac Loc: Long Island, NY

So, a majority of the American People who are registered to vote, wanted a leader with leadership skills, not a leader who leads from behind, so they elected Obama, which makes them smart.

That's a good joke line for a late night tv host. :thumbup:

overthemoon Loc: Wisconsin

[/quote]

:thumbup:

Hunter Lou 1947 Loc: Minnesota

If you recall Romney campaigned that the voters wanted someone who took the lead and lead and not someone who leads from behind. So they took Romney's advice and elected a leader who has leadership skills, not one who leads from behind. What's the matter can't you stomach that remark?????
Also, now all of a sudden you see Republican leaders who have the answer why Romney lost. Where were they when the Republicans were campaigning? They were looking out for their own hide and scared as hell of the far right extreme of the Republican Party, the Tea Party Express and Grover Norquist. It all goes to show you money talks. They all took a bribe from Grover Norquist not to question the Tea party extremes because they felt that the extremists had the edge. Well, it again shows you that the electoret is not stupid. If the Republicans think they will get their act together by 2014 they have another guess coming, they are dead wrong.

overthemoon Loc: Wisconsin

You are in the minority most americans wanted obama for lots of reasons. Republicans denounced over half the people in this country. Rodmey just yesturday siad they lost because of blacks latinos, women and young people. How can a republican party win with a mind set like that. if there is a conservitive message it wasn't about how to get the country on the right track the message seemed to be that over half of the country are just takers and the rich are the only people important to america because they will give back some of their wealth to the american people by trickle down economy. Bobby Jindal a republican said this isn't what the republican party is about and if we don't get out a new message republicans wont win. Rodmey doesn't get it he made the 47 percent comment and then yesturday in a press conference he stuck his foot in his mouth again and reconfirmed his statements about the 47 percent. Rodmey and a lot of canidates are wrong for the republican party and all of them lost who made outlandish comments about women. If you want a republican to win, the party needs to represent the new demographics of the united states and give the people a crediable candidate.

Robert Graybeal Loc: Myrtle Beach

overthemoon wrote: Instead of plunging into a recession the economy has been recovering from the worst financial crisis since the 1930s.

Liberals write words like this with no facts to back them up, they are just words of propaganda. But, they sound good!

Here is a fact: over the past 4 years, the average income in this country has decreased by $4,300 per year. Please explain to me how this is 'recovery'.

Robbie7 Loc: Northampton. England

"Life is a shit sandwhich the more bread youve got the less shit you eat". When are the mega rich going to be satisfied, we too in UK are getting ripped off all ways, Costa Coffee, Amazon, Google are the 3 latest undergoing investigation into their tax affairs. Its not only them but pop stars, sports stars and on and on..What will it take?, a revolution by those who are continually on the bread line..

overthemoon Loc: Wisconsin

First I can go online and find info about the recovery cut past just like you with that in your world right now who the heck cares you have Obama he is this counties pres if you like it or not. It seems to me its better for you if america falls apart then to help find ways to get it back on track your canidate Mitt Rodmey lost by over 50 percent because your party picked the wrong person to lead a conservative aganda that people could trust those are facts and those facts don't need to be found on the web and then cut and paste.

Joyfullee Loc: South FL

It is those who are running the country that have taken and are going to continue taking if OFF track.

Understand that and you will understand why people are wanting to secede.