Grand political roundup

[Grefter]

As a nation with universal health care, I will take our horror stories over the ones you hear out of the states.  I think the biggest problem our health care suffers is how easy it is to complete fuck over doctors.  Sure they need accountabilty.  They also can be totally fucked for things that aren't there fault and still be boned.  This stems more from an increasing society of litigation more than a problem with health care.

We can have long waits in hospitals and stuff, but if you are suffering from an operable problem that needs work done ASAP then it gets done.  You know, without having to go "Oh you can't afford to keep that eye so we will just take it out" (Have I hyped the doctor that treated me as a kid enough?  I don't think I have).
cking fact, China is producing fuck tons these days and neither Britain or Aus are huge powers in the production sector (although apparently Britain is stronger than I thought).  Australia still exists economically more on primary product than produced product
This is of course with a smaller population with all the infrastructure for it already in place, both of which are pretty big factors.  It ultimately brings up the need to massively obliterate a large percentage of the world's population.


GDP figures (The United States is at -4.9%, Britain is at -3.9%, Australia is at -5.9%, etc), none of those are shocking.  China has been a fucking powerhouse economically lately

[Nephrite]

I am voting for Obama but would not be overly angered if John McCain were to win.

I hope that Obama's promise to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act is true, also.

[Shale]

On the subject of healthcare availability. I need regular checks from a dermatologist to make sure I don't get melanoma and die. There is a four to six month wait for one of these appointments. OH NO CANADA HAS LONG LINES doesn't hold much sway with me.

[Hunter Sopko]

The people who need healthcare most (i.e. the lower-middle class) also shoulder the burden of paying the most in taxes, resulting in an economic wash. Imposing higher progressive tax rates on the rich would be political suicide and would just result in rich keeping more of their wealth in unrealized gains (stocks, etc.).

Unless you mean that the lower-middle class have a higher percentage of their income going to taxes, uh, no. Historically the top few percent pay the majority of the taxes the government collects. You're right on the reaction of the rich on the progressive taxes, but this might actually be a good time to do it. With the volitility in the stock market investors have been running back to treasury bonds more lately, but who knows how long that'll last.

I actually liked Hillary's universal healthcare plan to a certain extent when she was First Lady. It needed some serious streamlining to cut the assloads of red-tape, but it was a good start. That it was completely cut was unfortunate. Sadly, we're no longer in a place economically where it would be viable.

ID is also right about the economy, though. The subprime fucked us over in a lot of ways. However, I disagree with him in that our trade deficit hurts us a bit more than some other countries due to the oil exchange rate. Subprime + Deficit = LOLFAIL dollar. It's both of these together that continue to pummel the value of the dollar. The US was withering the trade deficit fine, but I honestly believe the subprime crisis wouldn't have affected the dollar as much as it did if it wasn't already sort of depreciated from both the deficit and the gains the Euro and Yuan made on it. (I laugh when I think back to college when people laughed at me for telling them China would be the world's next big power. "LOLNo EU is where it's at, baby")

Also seconding the parts about not pulling out of Iraq until the job is done.

[InfinityDragon]

Unless you mean that the lower-middle class have a higher percentage of their income going to taxes, uh, no. Historically the top few percent pay the majority of the taxes the government collects.

I was referring to percentage of income paid to taxes, yes. That's generally what's referred to when talking about the actual burden. Yeah, sure, the top marginal rates go up steeply. The people who are affected by those high marginal rates are better able to realize gains as capital gains instead of as ordinary income. There are also problems with the downward creeping Alternative Minimum Tax and the like, but that's a bit more complicated.

If you break income into percentiles, the middle quintile on average pays 17.4% of its income to taxes. The fourth quintile pays 20.1%. The 95th percentile pays 23.3%. In other words, the difference in the amount of taxes payed by the middle class (middle quintile) and upper class (95th percentile) is a mere 6.2%. After factoring in ability to pay (middle quintile averages an income of $25,000 per year, 95th percentile averages $120,000 per year), its pretty obvious where the total economic burden lies.

[Hunter Sopko]

Right. Just making sure. On the bright side, the Capital Gains tax goes back to ~20% in 2011.

[Anthony Edward Stark]

Isn't the Yuan's value fixed by the Chinese government to encourage their export businesses, though?

[InfinityDragon]

On the bright side, the Capital Gains tax goes back to ~20% in 2011.

I'd rather see the AMT and FICA taxes repealed over an increased Cap Gains tax. Low Cap Gains helps everyone; AMT and FICA only hurt people who rely on their employment salary for income.

[Grefter]

What is this ID?  Are you turning into some kind of Socialist?

[InfinityDragon]

What is this ID?  Are you turning into some kind of Socialist?

Haha; hardly. Afterall, dropping FICA would mean no more Social Security and Medicare--or at the least, significantly reduce the size of those bloated programs and require an alternative funding source outside taxes.

The AMT is just poorly designed and stupid. Who the fuck makes a tax system that fails to account for inflation?

Our current tax system is ugly and operates like shit. A streamlined tax system that makes makes money management an incentive (i.e. by giving Cap Gains a preferred rate, removing the C-Corp tax altogether, etc...) would be sexy.

[Grefter]

Makes sense.  Health care systems and whatnot require a consistent and fair method for revenue gathering, a far clearer tax system is something that would help regardless of whether you want it or not for those socialist programs.

Again, government works better if it is designed as a whole instead of having bits and pieces tacked on here and there.

[Dunefar]

So now that it's had some time to sit, I'm locking the voting. I'll be wondering if the vote totals change come Election Day.

[Dhyerwolf]

What is this ID?  Are you turning into some kind of Socialist?

Haha; hardly. Afterall, dropping FICA would mean no more Social Security and Medicare--or at the least, significantly reduce the size of those bloated programs and require an alternative funding source outside taxes.

And I will forever hate how unpolitically viable the reduction of Social Security is. It's what...effectively a $12.50ish ($13?) hourly wage for someone working full time for people who have had at least 4 decades to get their financial/housing stuff in order? At least they starting moving up the age after realizing that all these magical life extensions should also theoretically increase how long someone works.

[Captain K.]

I've actually been reading the newspaper every day to try and be an informed voter.  And I've come to the conclusion that I don't like McCain or Obama.  They take opposite stances on every issue, but both ignore option C which would be a better solution.

If I had to pick one, I'd go with Obama right now, because I like what he's doing with his world tour thingy.  But yeah, this may be another abstain year for me.

[Anthony Edward Stark]

At least they starting moving up the age after realizing that all these magical life extensions should also theoretically increase how long someone works.

Fuck yes. Back when they came up with the idea, you got on social security for five to ten years and then you fucking died and stopped taking my goddamn money.

[metroid composite]

Can't vote, foreigner.

Though a few observations:

1. Anyone who defends the American health care system is retarded.  It costs more per capita than any other country, so isn't helping taxpayers.  Anyone who's lived in multiple countries (like me) can vouch for how using the American system is amazingly painful compared to any other system I've been in (granted, I've never visited a thrid-world country).

2. As far as left-wing candidates go, Obama seems pretty good.  I consider him a fair bit better than Hillary for a variety of reasons from foreign policy to not sharing her stance on videogames.  (This despite the fact that I wanted to like Hillary--female president would be neato and stuff).

3. I don't know anything about McCain.  Except that he's vanilla Republican as opposed to "secretly Libertarian" Ron Paul or "Southern Baptist party" Huckabee.

[Hunter Sopko]

Joe Biden. The Dems sure know how to keep the constituents riveted.

[Niu]

1. Anyone who defends the American health care system is retarded.  It costs more per capita than any other country, so isn't helping taxpayers.  Anyone who's lived in multiple countries (like me) can vouch for how using the American system is amazingly painful compared to any other system I've been in (granted, I've never visited a thrid-world country).

I don't think anyone is, just people find socializing it would be equally painful.

[superaielman]

http://ukpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5gH5l-Singpk9F7-gUBHv0qOYYsxA

Madonna: Still a worthless attention whore.

[Strago]

Joe Biden. The Dems sure know how to keep the constituents riveted.

I'll take a really solid if slightly unexciting guy like Biden over McCain's transparently political and misguided choice of Palin any day.

[superaielman]

I like the Palin pick myself. Beats a Liberman or a George Allen style fuckup VP pick.

[Nephrite]

I hope Hillary comes out and just says "Ms. Palin, you are not Hillary Clinton." and then walks away.

[Taishyr]

Oh gods I hope that doesn't happen. In fact I hope and pray every night the media forgets US politics exists.

I just don't. Want. To hear it. Any of it.

I mean, it'd be vaguely amusing, but at the same time... oh gods media would orgasm and whenever they do so I howl in pain because augh media ;_;

[Dunefar]

I think both candidates chose reasonably well. Biden shores up some of Obama's weaknesses, while Palin's pro-life and social conservative stances will rally the right wing base.  Palin has a unique position of helping McCaine and -completely- infuriating the left wing. I imagine the feminists are shitting bricks right about now.

[AAA]

Both candidates did exactly what they needed to do. Obama picked someone who is experienced and white, and McCain picked someone that both ties him to evangelical voters and puts serious pressure on the female block of the Democrats, more than a few of whom are upset by not having Hillary anywhere on the ticket. Both come with some issues, but considering the list of hopefuls for both sides everybody has at least a couple drawbacks. All in all this was a solid move on both parts.

Obama's still got a nice bounce going from the DNC, but I imagine that's going to fade away after the Republicans get in their shot, assuming Gustav doesn't fuck things up too badly. So we'll be back in more or less a dead heat, and I imagine the election will come down to who's better at getting his people out to the polls.