Thursday, January 14, 2010

Finally, equitable taxation that is not just on the backs of the Working Class. I very much approve.



New option: Applying Medicare tax to dividends
Thursday, January 14, 2010 3:00 AM
McCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS

WASHINGTON -- Democratic congressional leaders, intensifying the health-care drive in marathon White House talks yesterday, are considering a new strategy to help finance their plan -- applying the Medicare payroll tax for the first time not just to wages but to capital gains, dividends and other forms of unearned income.

The move could placate labor leaders who bitterly oppose President Barack Obama's plan to tax high-end insurance policies that cover many union members. It could help shore up Medicare's own shaky finances. And the new tax would fall primarily on affluent Americans, not the beleaguered middle class.

The concept also carries political risks: Many older Americans, one of the nation's most potent voting blocs, could see their tax bills rise because they often rely on savings and investment income in retirement.

House and Senate Democratic leaders worked throughout the day and into the night yesterday in talks with Obama and his top lieutenants.

Late yesterday, the president joined House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in a written statement after daylong talks among senior Democratic leaders at the White House, saying that they have made "significant progress" toward reaching a final health-care deal.

The White House wants Obama to sign a bill in time for his State of the Union address next month....


The Republicans will complain that an additional Medicare tax on capital gains, dividends and other unearned income will hurt business.

It is unjust to have ONLY the working class of the USA pay a tax for Medicare.
How many Americans didn't know those that worked for a living were the only ones paying for Medicare through payroll tax? I am sure there are plenty.

Income is income and there is no reason why anyone with income should not be paying taxes to support Medicare spending.

And most of all I don't want to hear 'word one' complaining from Wall Street. I heard it all yesterday and they deserve no respect.

One of the 'gems' of Wall Street called the fiscal disaster of 2008 an equivalent to an act of God, namely a hurricane.

I don't think so.

The the other gem stated, JP Morgan Chase Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon said, "using tax policy to punish people is a bad idea. All businesses tend to pass their costs onto customers."

Customers? Like the small business loan customers you all service so eagerly? You mean those customers?

Or the homeowners you eagerly refinanced after the bailout? Or the house buyers receiving mortgages today that your furnish in abundance. You mean those customers?

Ask me what I care if the federal government taxes all of you 'out the #%*@*%$*# !!!!!!

Maybe after the nation has reasonable health care costs and there is a Treasury Surplus and our children will have a good quality of life with quality employment, THEN, there can be complaints about taxes,...

..BUT...

...NOT A DAY BEFORE !!!!!!!!!!!

Barack Obama's fee on US banks gets to heart of the matter (CLICK HERE)

Banks were provided with a service that should not be counted simply in terms of protection schemes

Monday 11 January 2010 20.15 GMT

The Obama administration seems to be roughly where the UK ­government was about three months ago. It sees the public anger about bankers' bonuses and it recognises that the banks have had an enormous leg-up from taxpayers. Even the White House grumbles about banks "not getting it" sound like Alistair Darling's. Yet the administration is struggling to find the right policy response. The latest version – offered in vague terms, it should be said – envisages a fee on financial institutions to recoup the cost of the bailout.

The obvious difficulty here is that banks might try to pass on the cost of the fee to customers or investors, who in various guises tend to be taxpayers themselves. That's a real danger, of course, but the notion of a fee deserves to be applauded....


Oh.

By the way. For all those objections regarding the Windfall Tax?

Thanks for bringing it up.


Onto Palin at FOX. This is about Murdoch and his political ambitions. It isn't about Palin or a career at all.

Murdoch BOUGHT Sarah Palin. To begin why isn't she on special assignment in Haiti? I guess sitting with Beck and the rest of the Bozos and talking 'hate' to their viewers is more important. And talk about putting words in her mouth. The 'interrogators' are polishing her for her next act as a candidate somewhere.

It's over for Sarah. She burned huge bridges. She is BATE. Then Murdoch will play 'Bate and Switch' with the electorate. FOX is trying to 'hook' the people that purchased her book for political ambitions.

They don't care about Palin, they care about power. And the Tea Party Movement isn't about politics, it is about hate. The more hate they can build the more chance they can actually sponsor some real acts of terror against the country.

Seriously.

They are bigots. There leader is openly racist. He is all about raising hate to a level of intolerable so people with guns will act on it.

He is not quite as bad as the KKK. Not quite, but, close.

I feel bad for Sarah. She did it all wrong. Completely wrong. She didn't care enough about her career to really plot a course for herself. She allowed a party desperate for a 'wind change' to use her.

She has no qualifications and is doing exactly what every other Republican has done for decades. She is becoming a fool for rhetoric and is willing to be polished to lie even better than she did before.

I would never want to be a member of the Republican Party and to be a candidate has to be worse. They are extremists. Show me one Republican that actually votes in a 'reasonable' fashion.

Murdoch will promote her and use all the power available to him to achieve some demented goal.

What is occurring with Sarah has been occurring for a long time. She is becoming a toy for Murd0ch and Rush Limbaugh. They will pull the strings of the electorate for her and in turn she will bend to their will. She will be at their beckon call from now on. There is going back. Not even Wasilla wants her anymore. She has no 'home' to go home to except Murdoch and his maniacal gaming.

Bye, Sarah.

Brown is a poor excuse for a legislator.

He voted against an interim Senator, didn't want to change the Presidential Primary Date.

And this is something I don't see as being a valuable vote at all. He voted against a "Life Science Bill."

Huh? What is so objectionable about the future of medicine?

These are not huge expenditures. This is a bill that allocates valuable spending over ten years. Ten years. This is prudent spending as it invests in the future. I don't think this guy is too smart. He is a 'position voter' and doesn't care about people and if this doesn't prove it, don't ask me what does.

H 4554: Bill providing for the investment in and expansion of the life sciences industry in the Commonwealth. (click title to entry - thank you)

- Allocates $120 million for the Massachusetts Life Sciences Opportunity Relocation and Expansion Jobs Capital Program Fund (Sec. 2).

- Allocates $95 million for a life sciences laboratory research center complex at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst (Sec. 2).

- Allocates $90 million for Albert Sherman Center at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester. The center will include an RNAi Institute, stem cell biology cluster, cord blood bank and a gene therapy cluster (Sec. 2).

- Provides $5 million in loan guarantees to small businesses through the Small Business Capital Access Program (Sec. 2).

- Allocates $12.6 million for highway 93 interchange construction and maintenance (Sec. 2).

- Allocates $12.9 million for water and wastewater infrastructure for a proposed cell culture manufacturing facility in Framingham (Sec. 2).

- Allocates $6.5 million for the development of a life science incubator building in Pittsfield (Sec. 2).

- Allocates $10 million to the University of Massachusetts Lowell for a nano and biomanufacturing facility (Sec. 2).

- Provides a one-time grant of $9.5 million to the Tufts’ Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine (Sec. 23).

This is Massachusetts' next Senator? You've got to be joking. He hasn't done anything for Massachusetts. Is he married? I never hear about a wife.


Ah, his voting record is abysmal.

You know that right?

The Republicans are dumping big money into this guy because he is glamorous.

I mean for real here.

He hasn't done anything for the people of Massachusetts except be a member of the party of NO.

We can start with his hostility against women.

His 'stand' isn't about abortion, it is about cruel and unusual punishment of women that have been raped. That was RAPED. Got it? Pure unadulterated hostility against women. He can't remember all of a sudden that he made such a stand? Oh, really. Sorry, but, I wouldn't want to take the chance he would 'do it again' after he remembers. Republicans are liars. Nothing, but, liars. They 'play position politics.' No pun intended.


Yvonne Abraham

Brown’s failure (click title to entry - thank you)

By Yvonne Abraham Globe Columnist
January 14, 2010
I don’t know what’s worse: that Scott Brown tried to weaken a law guaranteeing emergency contraception to rape victims, or that he now claims he can’t remember doing it. Or maybe it’s that, now that he’s running for US Senate, he’s dragging his daughters into the controversy to protect himself....


All of a sudden he has a lot of money coming into his campaign. Where did it come from? Long time backers? Or opportunists?

GOP Senate hopeful Scott Brown (click here) is outspending Attorney General Martha Coakley in television and radio ads as his campaign forges ahead in the general election, a Democratic source told the Herald yesterday.

Although he began the campaign as an underfunded long shot struggling to catch up to Coakley’s robust fund-raising operation, Brown was bolstered by an online cash drive that raked in a whopping $1.3 million in a day, according to his campaign.

“As of today, he will have outspent Martha Coakley’s campaign,” said the source....



That position is not his only failure in the political spectrum. Allow me.

In the Massachusetts State Senate his voting record is a failure. He, only on an occassion voted effectively for his constituencies. He is a member of 'The Party of No." He doesn't have 'policies,' all he has going for him is politics. We have seen these Republicans before, they aren't interested in people, they are interested in power.

Now, unless the entire Massachusetts State Legislature is going to be thrown out on their ear next election or the people of the state have been up in arms for the past four years, it would be the most foolish thing people could do to vote him into a federal seat for Massachusetts. He is 'anti-people' and always votes in opposition of measures that have passed, except, for a very rare occasion. He isn't good for people.

In total he has about a 20% success rate. Of the following 40 or so legislative initiative he only voted successfully 8 times. And it isn't just that he voted successfully and well, it was issues and the bills that passed he opposed that are important. He is dangerous. He practices politics and not policy. That is a real of direction change for the people of Massachusetts. They don't care about themselves anymore? This is not suppose to be about politics, this is about having an effective legislator 'across the board' for the people of the state.

This isn't a game. People should not be toying with folks. He is. Definitely.

Budget, Spending and Taxes (click here) - He voted three times with measures that passed. That was three times out of 8 legislation issues. That is a 37.5 % success rate. People or politics?

Date

Bill Title

Vote

Outcome

07/29/2008

Election Day Voter Registration
S 2807

Y

Bill Passed - Senate
(33 - 5)

06/12/2008

Life-Science Bill
H 4554

N

Conference Report Adopted - Senate
(31 - 7)

05/06/2008

Cigarette Tax Increase
H 4645

NV

Bill Passed - Senate
(31 - 6)

07/31/2007

Sales Tax Holiday
HB 2876

Y

Bill Passed - Senate
(33 - 4)

05/24/2006

MassHealth Immigrant Eligibility Veto Override
H 4479

N

Veto Override Passed - Senate
(34 - 5)

05/24/2006

Sales Tax Holiday
Amdt 8 to SB 3

Y

Amendment Adopted - Senate
(23 - 16)

05/04/2006

MassHealth Benefits Veto Override
H 4479

N

Veto Override Passed - Senate
(37 - 2)

05/04/2006

Employer Contribution to Employee Health Care Veto Override
H 4479

N

Veto Override Passed - Senate
(31 - 9)

http://www.votesmart.org/img/CCCCCC.gif

_____________________________________________________________________________


Business and Consumers - Mr. Brown voted successfully two out of six legislative measures. That is a success rate of 33%

Date

Bill Title

Vote

Outcome

06/12/2008

Life-Science Bill
H 4554

N

Conference Report Adopted - Senate
(31 - 7)

05/06/2008

Cigarette Tax Increase
H 4645

NV

Bill Passed - Senate
(31 - 6)

07/31/2007

Sales Tax Holiday
HB 2876

Y

Bill Passed - Senate
(33 - 4)

06/22/2006

Massage Therapist Licensing
S 2258

N

Veto Override Passed - Senate
(29 - 8)

05/24/2006

Sales Tax Holiday
Amdt 8 to SB 3

Y

Amendment Adopted - Senate
(23 - 16)

05/04/2006

Employer Contribution to Employee Health Care Veto Override
H 4479

N

Veto Override Passed - Senate
(31 - 9)

http://www.votesmart.org/img/CCCCCC.gif

________________________________________________________________________


Campaign Finance and Election Issues – He voted one time successfully here. That is a success rate of 25%. He is strictly a political animal.

Date

Bill Title

Vote

Outcome

09/22/2009

Authorizing Governor to Appoint Interim U.S. Senator
H 4246

N

Bill Passed - Senate
(24 - 16)

07/29/2008

Election Day Voter Registration
S 2807

Y

Bill Passed - Senate
(33 - 5)

11/15/2007

Presidential Primary Date Change
S 2414

N

Bill Passed - Senate
(33 - 5)

07/13/2006

Unsigned Political Posters
H 126

N

Veto Override Passed - Senate
(30 - 6)

http://www.votesmart.org/img/CCCCCC.gif

______________________________________________________________________


Civil Liberties and Civil Rights – He voted one time successfully here. That is a 33% success rate. Politics. He isn’t interested in being effective. He manipulates his constituency on ‘TYPICAL Republican ideologies’ and delivers NOTHING.

Date

Bill Title

Vote

Outcome

07/29/2008

Election Day Voter Registration
S 2807

Y

Bill Passed - Senate
(33 - 5)

06/14/2007

Constitutional Amendment Defining Marriage
S 2220

Y

Bill Failed - Senate
(5 - 34)

07/13/2006

Unsigned Political Posters
H 126

N

Veto Override Passed - Senate
(30 - 6)

http://www.votesmart.org/img/CCCCCC.gif

____________________________________________________________________-


Drug Issues – Here he was completely unsuccessful. None of the bills went in his favor.

Date

Bill Title

Vote

Outcome

07/13/2006

Sale of Hypodermic Needles and Syringes
H 4176

N

Veto Override Passed - Senate
(25 - 11)

06/07/2006

Sale of Hypodermic Needles and Syringes
H 4176

NV

Bill Passed - Senate
(26 - 8)

http://www.votesmart.org/img/CCCCCC.gif

_______________________________________________________________________


Education – Here again, completely ineffective as a legislator.

Date

Bill Title

Vote

Outcome

02/07/2008

Education Reorganization
H 4488

N

Bill Passed - Senate
(33 - 5)

http://www.votesmart.org/img/CCCCCC.gif

_________________________________________________________________________


Employment and Affirmative Action – Again.

Date

Bill Title

Vote

Outcome

05/04/2006

Employer Contribution to Employee Health Care Veto Override
H 4479

N

Veto Override Passed - Senate
(31 - 9)

http://www.votesmart.org/img/CCCCCC.gif

________________________________________________________________________


Executive Branch – Again.

Date

Bill Title

Vote

Outcome

09/22/2009

Authorizing Governor to Appoint Interim U.S. Senator
H 4246

N

Bill Passed - Senate
(24 - 16)

02/07/2008

Education Reorganization
H 4488

N

Bill Passed - Senate
(33 - 5)

http://www.votesmart.org/img/CCCCCC.gif

_______________________________________________________________________________


Family and Children Issues – Again.

Date

Bill Title

Vote

Outcome

06/14/2007

Constitutional Amendment Defining Marriage
S 2220

Y

Bill Failed - Senate
(5 - 34)

http://www.votesmart.org/img/CCCCCC.gif

______________________________________________________________________


Federal, State, and Local Relations – Again.

Date

Bill Title

Vote

Outcome

09/22/2009

Authorizing Governor to Appoint Interim U.S. Senator
H 4246

N

Bill Passed - Senate
(24 - 16)

02/07/2008

Education Reorganization
H 4488

N

Bill Passed - Senate
(33 - 5)

http://www.votesmart.org/img/CCCCCC.gif

________________________________________________________________________


Health Issues – Again. Nothing. Not an effective legislator.

Date

Bill Title

Vote

Outcome

07/13/2006

Sale of Hypodermic Needles and Syringes
H 4176

N

Veto Override Passed - Senate
(25 - 11)

06/07/2006

Sale of Hypodermic Needles and Syringes
H 4176

NV

Bill Passed - Senate
(26 - 8)

05/24/2006

MassHealth Immigrant Eligibility Veto Override
H 4479

N

Veto Override Passed - Senate
(34 - 5)

05/04/2006

MassHealth Benefits Veto Override
H 4479

N

Veto Override Passed - Senate
(37 - 2)

05/04/2006

Employer Contribution to Employee Health Care Veto Override
H 4479

N

Veto Override Passed - Senate
(31 - 9)

http://www.votesmart.org/img/CCCCCC.gif

_________________________________________________________________________


Immigration – Again.

Date

Bill Title

Vote

Outcome

05/24/2006

MassHealth Immigrant Eligibility Veto Override
H 4479

N

Veto Override Passed - Senate
(34 - 5)

http://www.votesmart.org/img/CCCCCC.gif

_____________________________________________________________________


Labor – Here it was a that was successful in conference.

Date

Bill Title

Vote

Outcome

06/18/2009

Massachusetts Transportation Agency Consolidation
S 2087

Y

Conference Report Adopted - Senate
(27 - 11)

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________________________________________________________________________


Science and Medical Research – Failed.

Date

Bill Title

Vote

Outcome

06/12/2008

Life-Science Bill
H 4554

N

Conference Report Adopted - Senate
(31 - 7)

http://www.votesmart.org/img/CCCCCC.gif

______________________________________________________________________


Social Issues – Failed again.

Date

Bill Title

Vote

Outcome

06/14/2007

Constitutional Amendment Defining Marriage
S 2220

Y

Bill Failed - Senate
(5 - 34)

http://www.votesmart.org/img/CCCCCC.gif

_____________________________________________________________________


Transportation Issues – 50% successful.

Date

Bill Title

Vote

Outcome

06/18/2009

Massachusetts Transportation Agency Consolidation
S 2087

Y

Conference Report Adopted - Senate
(27 - 11)

05/18/2006

Primary Seat Belt Bill
H 229

N

Bill Passed - Senate
(25 - 15)

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________________________________________________________________________


Women's Issues – Another failure.

Date

Bill Title

Vote

Outcome

06/14/2007

Constitutional Amendment Defining Marriage
S 2220


Bill Failed - Senate
(5 - 34)