1 maybe we can use the bottomless bag of money to fill in the bottomless hole that is the federal budget? just a thought. coyote

2 It's always nice to know that I, with my 20K (pre-tax) annual income, am considered one of the "rich" by the Dems...Considering that they make ten times what I do, does that make Congress the "filthy rich"?

3 I predict in 20 years, regardless of the party in control of congress/WH, I'll be considering a move to Sweden to take advantage of the marginal tax rate reduction. Q: Why do I think of Zevon's "Werewolves of London" whenever I see Edwards? A: "His hair was perfect."

4 "To hear the democrats talk, you'd think 'George Bush's tax cuts for the rich' was some sort of magic bottomless bag of money." You mean it isn't?

5 Hey, I'm rich, too! YEEHA! My effective tax rate was "only" 13% (of course, not including social security, medicare, or FICA, which brings me up to 22%). Still, I guess I deserved it, after all. If the government hadn't helped me go into debt by $, I wouldn't be earning $50k/yearly.

6 Susie- i'm not so sure the anyone in government would consider you rich. at 20k / year you as a single person almost qualify for free meals from the usda. 185% of the poverty level is the cutoff.. you have almost twice the income of a single person that the government would consider living in poverty. (~$9300 / year) everyone got a little money back from uncle george last year.. my better half and i got $250. considering what we paid into the tax system, it was chump change. maybe it seems like a lot, but consider that the 400 weathiest people in america got back an average of over $8,000,000.00 each for a total of over $3,200,000,000.00 (ya thats 3.2 Billion) you might be able to see where the idea that the tax cuts were mostly for the rich. and thats only for the 400 most wealthy.. i heard Bill Clinton thank bush on TV for the $400,000.00 that he got back, but his point was that he really didn't need the money. i cannot find the source, but i read somewhere that you don't really see any real benefit from bush tax cuts until you earn well over 200 k / year. 10X your gross income! the bottom line is that most of the money that went (will go) back to americans for bush's taxs cuts, in fact went (will continue to go) to those who needed it the least. ok.. thats all from me. peace coyote

7 Coyote, I can tell you're not after Paul Harvey's job - aren't you going to give us "The Rest of the Story"? You know, the part where you list how much those 400 people PAID in taxes that allowed them a refund of $3.2 Billion???? For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction...

8 Heinz boy could help balancing the budget himself by volunteering pay more taxes in a way that would actually bring his family down to the level of us common folk. He might also offer to permanently share his lavish five-story, six fireplace mansion with some unemployed families, and lower the price of ketchup.

9 John- your were so busy trying to make up a snappy comeback that the you neglected to read. i'll repeat what i said above again so maybe this time you will see it.. the big money went back to those who need it least. the federal income tax system is predicated on the ability to pay. that is why there is a graduated scale, the more you make, the more you pay. bill gates and warren buffet don't give a crap about 8 million bucks.. to them it's a rounding error anyway. in case you have not yet noticed, there is a huge financial crisis brewing at the treasury and giving billions of dollars back to people who don't need it does nothing to help alleviate that crisis. the $300 that Susie the manager at the movie house got rebated to her will cost her kids $1000 to pay back. also you might want to do a little digging into the precentages that the super rich actually pay in taxes.. many of them are wealthy enough that they can pay someone else to work full-time to reduce their tax burden to percentages that rival what you and i might pay. peace coyote

10 Coyote, You throw around facts and figures so losely that it's tough to believe you. (Well, at least, you were willing to acknowledge that the $200 K nonsense might not be true.) Here is the bottom line. Those who pay the most both in percentage terms and in real terms are provided the most tax relief under the President's tax plan. AS IS IT SHOULD BE. However, with that said, even families making as little as $45,000 see significant relief. The bottom line is that those awful "rich" people pay almost all federal income taxes. The poor and lower middle classes pay virtually nothing yet receive the most government handouts. (Of course, that is the Left's goals---those who make it happen paying for those who are sitting around looking for a hand-out.) The idea of providing tax relief to people who pay little or no federal taxes is silly. However, the Left loves to play their little envy games and try to convince folks that the "rich" owe them something. I get to visit my accountant this Saturday where I will go through my annual exercise of trying to figure out how I can keep this government for confiscating my wealth. At the end of the day, between local, state, and federal taxes, I will owe more than 50% of my income. You think that's enough? After all, as one of those awful "rich" people maybe I don't "need" even that much....what do you think, comrade? Blu

11 Notice the angry left "activists" wailing and knashing their teeth last night, because Larry King had the gall to merely mention a similiarity between "socialism" and Kucinich's platform?

12 "bill gates and warren buffet don't give a crap about 8 million bucks.. to them it's a rounding error anyway." Of all the mindless, flippant assumptions you have spooged this is the most retarded. I'm sure these fantastically productive men would be thrilled that you say they are not worthy of their success. And even if if it were true, who the fuck are you to decide how much one is worthy to have. Get this through the block of cement you call a head: wealthy people don't owe you or anyone else a living as a penalty for their success. Your feeeeeeelings couldn't be more irrelevant. "my better half and i got $250." The truth comes out: no "wife"? Now we know why you are such a huge homo marraige fanatic! "the $300 that Susie the manager at the movie house got rebated to her will cost her kids $1000 to pay back." Another DU, moonbat cliche with absolutely nothing to back it up. Not even worth the bandwith it sucked up.

13 Standard Lib/Dem economic policy can always be reduced to "From each according to his ability. To each according to his need."

14 Gee Stephen; I always thought that was in The Communist Manifesto. How silly of me. Actually, I get the feeling it is more like "From each acccording to his ability; to each according to how many votes it will get us in November".

15 coyote--not only did I get the $300 rebate, I also got a larger refund than I have ever gotten before, which I used to fix my car so I can go to work and continue to pay taxes. And Bill Gates and Warren Buffet do WHAT with their refund money? Why, buy companies that employ people like me, that make products people like me use. And hey, if Bill Gates wants to spend a few bucks on ice cream, that actually helps the economy...

16 the $300 that Susie the manager at the movie house got rebated to her will cost her kids $1000 to pay back. You're nothing but class, Coyote. I used to read The Coyote's Bark because every now and then, you'd post something worth thinking about. Now it's all "Bush lied! People died! I'll have tofu on the side!" and I can read that crap anywhere. It used to be good; now it's just sad. Hope your photography never falls into a rut the way your politics have. You've got some real talent there and I'd hate to see it go to waste. After all, the most important tool an artist has is an open mind.

17 Hey coyote, elementary concept: My money does not belong to the government. No more slavery, remember. I don't give a sh#t about all the worthwhile causes all the DC tax whores can come up with to spend money on. I don't begrudge the legitimate services like national defense, but a government that extorts my money for the NEA and the rock and roll hall of fame is in need of some serious cutting. I'd start with 50% of all non-DOD employees. Make that 75% of all GS13 and above. Nobody would notice.

18 Coyote-sonny! There you are! You borrowed my dentures this morning for Show and Tell, and now it's my turn to wear them, sweetie, or did you forget? I need to buy some crack tonight, so I gotta have my teeth. Now, now, you had them all day. Now be a good boy, let Orderly Bob give you your enema, and go to sleep. If you are a good boy, I will talk to the nurses and they will let you splash in the toilet some more.