If you are Obama on wednesday

Do the same people who call for less spending support the war and/or don't support tax cuts for the middle class?
You call for less spending but maybe if we all pitched in more the deficit wouldn't be so large.
I just feel there's a sense of entitlement in this country. I saw it building before the bad economy and wasn't surprised when things started to go down hill. We want want want, but we don't want to pay for it. “we're in America, the best county so I should have this this and this.” Paying taxes isn't evil. It goes back into making this country strong.
I just thought this sense of entitlement would start to disappear due to the bad economy, it hasn't and I'm disappointed.
….and war is expensive. But we had to do something when were attacked huh?

looks like they will be doing some investigations to me......

Republicans Plan Congressional Investigations

Aug 27, 2010 Frank Crimi

http://www.suite101.com/content/republi ... ns-a279483

Republicans are poised to launch a wide series of investigations if they retake the House in November, a prospect that has Democrats very concerned

While many Democratic lawmakers and political strategists are beginning to brace themselves for what could turn out to be an historically severe political beat down in November 2010, their Republican counterparts are having a hard time hiding the state of euphoria in which they now find themselves, their only fear that they may wake up and realize that the astounding turnaround in their political fortunes is not a dream.

Republicans at Low Ebb
In November 2008 the Republican Party was at the lowest ebb it had been since the Watergate days of Richard Nixon. Their Presidential standard bearer, John McCain, had been mercilessly shellacked in the general election by Barrack Obama, whose coattails created Democratic super majorities in both Houses. Democrats, like James Carville, crowed that the election was so seismic in nature that it “guaranteed a Democratic majority for the next forty years.” For those Republicans who had not already headed for the tall grass, that prediction looked like a very safe bet.

For those with an eye to history, however, they knew that predictions of generational political shifts are best left to future historians. They remember after the destruction of Barry Goldwater at the hands of Lyndon Johnson in the 1964 Presidential election, similar cries were then evoked about a twenty year Republican exodus into the political wilderness. Yet four short years later, Lyndon Johnson had been pushed into self-imposed exile to his Texas ranch, while Richard Nixon, whose own political obituary had been written in 1962 after his loss to Pat Brown in the California Gubernatorial election, won the Presidency in 1968.


Democratic Failures
Those cautions notwithstanding, it was difficult for anyone to see how a Democratic Party, facing a demoralized and inept Republican opponent, fails to at the very least, solidify its hold on power. Predicting forty years of power may have been a bit of an overstretch, but nobody foresaw that they would blow it all in what looks to be a mere two years. Yet, by dramatically misreading the mandate they thought they had won, embarking on a leftward agenda of federal expansion not seen since the heydays of FDR’s New Deal and Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society, they did precisely that.

Their policies have ratcheted up the national debt to over $12 trillion, oversaw several budgets with trillion dollar deficits, and passed sweeping healthcare and regulatory legislation that were opposed by most of the voting public. On top of that it was a done through a legislative process replete with backroom deals and midnight votes and closed door hearings, which was more akin to the workings of a banana republic than a constitutional republic.

Finally, apparently having never read the book How to Win Friends and Influence People, Democrats displayed an open contempt to the growing political activist movement being organized by ordinary citizens across the country to articulate their opposition to the overreach being propagated in Washington. The response by their top congressional leadership likened them, specifically the Tea Party Movement, to a collection of racists, Brown Shirts and Nazis.

Republican Investigations
It is not unusual for a party which has found itself returned to power to go initiate some type of payback for the slights heaped upon them by the then majority party; if Republicans take control in November, they will be no different.

While there may not be many current House Democrats left after the election to investigate, there is the current occupant of the White House who has two full years more years, and, unfortunately for them, the Obama White House offers a target rich environment for Republican investigations.

Investigations into Joe Sestak, TARP, Mineral Management Services, Acorn, Countrywide, AIG, and the New Black Panther Party remain at the top of the GOP investigative list but investigations have a way of expanding and unearthing new controversies. While the importance of each one of these varies in its significance, the sheer number has the potential to cripple the legislative agenda of the White House for the next two years.

However, it may be wise for Republicans to temper their investigatory pursuits and keep in mind the need to focus on their own upcoming mandate. If they do retake power in November, it will be in large part due to the focus of public ire aimed squarely at stopping the continued growth of the leviathan federal government and bringing back a semblance of fiscal sanity to Washington.

Republicans lost their majority in the House in 2006 by abandoning their own campaign promises of fiscal responsibility and indulging in the same type of lavish spending that has Democrats in a current world of hurt. If the GOP gets overly sidetracked in its pursuit of investigatory probes and ignores the main reason they were elected, then their own time in power could end very quickly. Perhaps, as early as two years.


GOP plans wave of White House probes
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0810/41506.html

If President Barack Obama needed any more incentive to go all out for Democrats this fall, here it is: Republicans are planning a wave of committee investigations targeting the White House and Democratic allies if they win back the majority.

Everything from the microscopic — the New Black Panther party — to the massive –- think bailouts — is on the GOP to-do list, according to a half-dozen Republican aides interviewed by POLITICO.

Republican staffers say there won’t be any self-destructive witch hunts, but they clearly are relishing the prospect of extracting information from an administration that touts transparency.

And a handful of aggressive would-be committee chairmen — led by Reps. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) and Lamar Smith (R-Texas) — are quietly gearing up for a possible season of subpoenas not seen since the Clinton wars of the late 1990s.

Issa would like Obama’s cooperation, says Kurt Bardella, spokesman for the ranking Republican on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. But it’s not essential.

“How acrimonious things get really depend on how willing the administration is in accepting our findings [and] responding to our questions,” adds Bardella, who refers to his boss as “questioner-in-chief.’

That’s feeding anxieties within the West Wing — even if administration officials won’t admit it publicly.

“I actually think it will be even worse than what happened to Bill Clinton because of the animosity they already feel for President Obama,” says Lanny Davis, a deputy White House counsel who lived through Clinton’s trials.

With that in mind, here’s a list of six possible committee investigations if Republicans take back the House in November, culled from GOP aides, Democratic insiders and outside experts:

Sestak, Romanoff and Jobgate. Most of the Clinton-era investigations — from Whitewater to Vince Foster to the Lewinsky scandal — targeted the president personally.

Most potential GOP probes of Obama, by contrast, seem to be aimed at the administration’s periphery or policies — with the ironic exception of the one that revolves around none other than Bill Clinton.

Issa has made no secret of his interest in getting to the bottom of muddled, mishandled White House attempts to force Democratic Senate candidates Joe Sestak and Andrew Romanoff from races in Pennsylvania and Colorado.

White Deputy Chief of Staff Jim Messina sent Romanoff an e-mail with several potential non-Senate job possibilities; Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel enlisted Clinton to dangle the possibility of several unpaid executive branch appointments to Sestak in exchange for allowing Republican-turned-Democrat Arlen Specter to run unopposed. Sestak said no — and trounced Specter.

White House counsel Bob Bauer — the veteran election lawyer who would be Obama’s first legal line of defense against the GOP — has said no laws were broken. So have some GOP lawyers, but Issa isn’t convinced and has called on Attorney General Eric Holder to investigate.

Privately, Issa’s staff is afraid of taking it too far. The backlash against Republican investigations in the Newt Gingrich era is fresh in his mind.

He’s told associates he doesn’t want to be labeled another Dan Burton, referring to the overzealous Indiana Republican oversight chairman who once shot at a pumpkin in his backyard to reenact Vince Foster’s death.

“If Republicans go on an investigative witch hunt when and if they gain power in November, then their power will be very short lived,” said Mark McKinnon, a former George W. Bush adviser sympathetic to Obama. “The American public wants Congress to work together, not to investigate each other.”

Bailouts, Bailouts, Bailouts. No investigation poses a more significant political danger to Obama than a no-holds-barred GOP probe into TARP, the AIG bailout, the Freddie-Fannie sinkhole and the administration’s de facto takeover of GM and Chrysler.

Reason One: Perhaps the only issue uniting all voters is a shared hatred of all bailouts — so few Democrats, even die-hard liberals, would be willing to stand in front of a bus to defend Obama against attacks.

Reason Two: One GOP aide described the bailouts as a “huge pool” from which to make document and e-mail requests — and issue subpoenas. The prospect of a massive and popular fishing expedition at the West Wing’s expense would delight the Republican base and create a political headache for the president’s team.

Issa seriously rattled Democrats earlier this summer by revealing the lengths he is willing to go to obtain information, asking Google executives if they would be willing to turn over Gmail messages pertaining to administration business.

“If he comes at them, the White House will then have to make up its mind: Will they let their lawyers take over, or will they let the political people run the show?” says Lanny Davis, who counsels Obama to turn over as much as possible as quickly as possible to avoid allegations of stonewalling.

“If Rahm Emanuel is still chief of staff, they will have a huge advantage. He’s been through this before, and he’ll push back against the lawyers,” added Davis.

Countrywide Mortgage and “Angelo’s List.” Sen. Chris Dodd’s embarrassing placement on the company’s VIP mortgage list played a major role in the Connecticut Democrat’s involuntary retirement earlier this year.

Issa — using only the bully pulpit — has already forced Countrywide’s parent, Bank of America, to turn over reams of documents. If he becomes chairman, Issa will use the committee’s power to obtain more information on sweetheart deals, even if it involves GOP politicians, according to a person close to him.

“I think the White House is underestimating him,” says a top congressional Democratic aide. “What makes him so dangerous is that he’s willing to turn on Republicans, too.”

The New Black Panther Party. Smith, the ranking member of the Judiciary Committee, has already pressed Holder to look into charges that members of the New Black Panther Party intimidated voters at a Philadelphia polling place in 2008.

The San Antonio-area conservative — whose first campaign was managed by Karl Rove — is already on record criticizing Holder for dropping the Justice Department case against three Panthers, including one who brandished a police-style baton.

“Congress, in furtherance of its oversight obligations [needs] to receive answers” on the Panther case, he wrote in late 2009.

“Congressman Smith thinks it’s far too early to discuss any possible investigations before the voters have spoken,” said a Smith spokesman, before adding:

“But, yes, we would definitely want answers about the Black Panther case.”

ACORN. A whole host of Republicans — led by Reps. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) and Steve King (R-Iowa) on the party’s right wing — have demanded an investigation into the defunct community organizing group’s ties to the Obama campaign.

Still, neither Issa nor Smith are said to be enthusiastic about jumping back into the controversy — considering the fact that ACORN is out of business and most Democrats already have signed on to a bill barring federal funding of the group.

Related: Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas), who stands a chance of leap-frogging Spencer Bachus (R-Ala.), the ranking GOPer on the House Financial Services Committee — is pushing for a large-scale investigation of the Community Reinvestment Act.

Minerals Management Service. The juiciest Bush-era revelations about the agency’s shortcomings have already been aired, including the fact that some MMS employees allegedly had sexual relations with workers they were supposed to oversee.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar has admitted MMS officials were asleep at the switch in monitoring BP’s Deepwater Horizon platform before it blew up. But Issa is bent on finding out which Obama administration officials were responsible for missing the warning signs and why clean-up and response efforts didn’t take place more quickly.

aerial wrote:

$6 million to upgrade the two-block long Senate subway.
$350,000 to renovate the House Beauty Salon.
$250,000 to study TV lighting in the Senate meeting rooms.
$130,000 for a Congressional video-conferencing project.
Total: $6,730,000 mall example of pork spending
$3.1 million to convert a ferry boat into a crab restaurant in Baltimore.
$6.4 million for a Bavarian ski resort in Kellogg, Idaho.
$13 million to repair a privately owned dam in South Carolina.
$4.3 million for a privately owned museum in Johnstown, Pennsylvania.
$11 million for a private pleasure boat harbor in Cleveland.
$6 million to repair tracks owned by the Soo Railroad Line.
$320,000 to purchase President McKinley's mother-in-law's house. Funds to rehabilitate the South Carolina mansion of Charles Pickney, a Framer of the Constitution, even though the house was built after he died.
$2.7 million for a catfish farm in Arkansas.
$3 million for private parking garages in Chicago.
$500,000 to build a replica of the Great Pyramid of Egypt in Indiana.
$850,000 for a bicycle path in Macomb County, Michigan.
$10 million for an access ramp in a privately owned stadium in Milwaukee.
$1.8 million for an engineering study to convert Biscayne Boulevard in Miami into an "Exotic Garden."
$13 million for an industrial theme park in Pennsylvania.
$500,000 for a museum to honor former Secretary of State Cordell Hull.
$33 million to pump sand onto the private beaches of Miami hotels. $107,000 to study the sex life of the Japanese quail.
$1.2 million to study the breeding habits of the woodchuck.
$150,000 to study the Hatfield-McCoy feud.
$84,000 to find out why people fall in love.
$1 million to study why people don't ride bikes to work.
$19 million to examine gas emissions from cow flatulence.
$144,000 to see if pigeons follow human economic laws.
Funds to study the cause of rudeness on tennis courts and examine smiling patterns in bowling alleys.
$219,000 to teach college students how to watch television.
$2 million to construct an ancient Hawaiian canoe.
$20 million for a demonstration project to build wooden bridges.
$160,000 to study if you can hex an opponent by drawing an X on his chest.
$800,000 for a restroom on Mt. McKinley.
$100,000 to study how to avoid falling spacecraft.
$16,000 to study the operation of the komungo, a Korean stringed instrument.
$1 million to preserve a sewer in Trenton, NJ, as a historic monument.
$6,000 for a document on Worcestershire sauce.
$10,000 to study the effect of naval communications on a bull's potency.
$100,000 to research soybean-based ink.
$1 million for a Seafood Consumer Center.
$57,000 spent by the Executive Branch for gold-embossed playing cards on Air Force Two

the ones i highlighted are so ridiculous that they can not possibly be true. if they are i would like to see soueces on these as well...

aerial wrote:

$2 million to construct an ancient Hawaiian canoe.

wonder if it cost the ancients $2m to construct their canoes back in the day??? :think:

satansbed wrote:

he should just hire jon stewart as his press secretary, how awesome would that be

times like this, i wish this forum would offer a *like* button

fife wrote:

where would you cut spending from? healthcare, education, research, military etc etc?



can you elaborate on that.

Sure.


I actually have already commented on everything you asked but I'll do so again.

Healthcare: repeal parts of Obamacare
Education: end the Federal Dept of Education, leave it up to the States
Research: end most of NASA, end studies why some frog eats some insect, I'll answer that...food
Bring EVERY troop home from around the world. Have the National Guard protect the nation's borders and ports
End the Estate tax and Income Tax. Create a Flat Tax.
Audit or end the Fed
End the IRS
Audit the welfare system, make drug tests mandatory

I just saved about $1T a year right there.

Electric_Delta wrote:

Yeah, Republicans are total jerks. Good thing Democrats have never tried to smear anyone. Ever.

the dems could have come in with their supermajority and could have tried to prosecute and investigate everybody in the last administration, AND gotten convictions, but they didn't. they took the high road and let it go. and i can guaranfuckintee you that the self righteous leadership in the gop, if they win the house, will not take the high road. just you watch.

did you even read the articles i posted? what are your thoughts on them???

for those of you who are so adament about cutting taxes AND cutting spending, i suggest you view the 60 minutes piece from this past sunday. reagan's own budget director said that that is never going to happen.

Deficits: The Battle Over Taxing The Rich
With Deficits Soaring, Washington State Is Considering A Special Income Tax For The Wealthiest Residents

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/10/ ... ontentBody

(CBS) When Congress returns after the elections on Tuesday, it will face one of the most hotly debated issues in the campaign: raising taxes on the rich.

That's President Obama's position: to keep the Bush tax cuts in place, except for those on the wealthiest two percent as a way to reduce the dreaded deficit.

It's an idea already percolating among the governors: eight states have increased so-called "millionaire" income taxes so far, as a way of avoiding drastic budget cuts on health and education. And on Tuesday, voters could make Washington State the ninth.

But with our national debt in the trillions, budget experts will tell you that just taxing the rich isn't enough.

One Republican brave enough to go public is David Stockman, President Reagan's budget director. He says all the Bush tax cuts should be eliminated - even those on the middle class.

And he says his own Republican Party has gone too far with its anti-tax religion.

"Tax cutting is a religion. What do you mean by that?" correspondent Lesley Stahl asked Stockman.

"Well it's become in a sense an absolute. Something that can't be questioned, something that's gospel, something that's sort of embedded into the catechism and so scratch the average Republican today and he'll say 'Tax cuts, tax cuts, tax cuts,'" he explained.

"It's rank demagoguery," he added. "We should call it for what it is. If these people were all put into a room on penalty of death to come up with how much they could cut, they couldn't come up with $50 billion, when the problem is $1.3 trillion. So, to stand before the public and rub raw this anti-tax sentiment, the Republican Party, as much as it pains me to say this, should be ashamed of themselves."

These frank words come from Ronald Reagan's old budget director. Stockman was the architect of the largest tax cut in American history.

But he doesn't let the Democrats off the hook. He says he cringes when he hears President Obama say things like this: "I believe we ought to make the tax cuts for the middle class permanent."

"We have now got both parties essentially telling a big lie," he told Stahl. "With a capital 'B' and a capital 'L' to the public: and that is that we can have all this government, 24 percent of GDP, this huge entitlement program, all of the bailouts. And yet, we don't have to tax ourselves and pay our bills. That is delusional."

"Why isn't this statement correct? We cannot really deal with the deficit until we get our recovery underway?" Stahl asked.

"The recovery has already happened. It is weak, it is tepid," Stockman said.

Asked how he can say the recovery has happened considering there is a ten percent unemployment rate, Stockman said, "The unemployment rate is not going to drop by any material amount any time soon. And we're going to be in a period of austerity. We've had a 30-year spree of really phony prosperity in this country."

Now our national debt is growing by $100 billion a month. For those who say cutting spending is the answer, Stockman says both parties have thrown in the towel on that.

"Even Republicans have said there's nothing significant we want to cut. They don't want to cut Social Security entitlements; they don't want to cut Medicare reimbursements to doctors; farm subsidies; education loans for middle class students. Certainly not defense!" he said.

Many of the states are in the same boat, facing huge deficits and few prospects for cutting, which is why Washington State is joining the movement across the country to tax the rich.

On Tuesday, voters will decide on Initiative 1098 that would create a state income tax, but only on the wealthy, of whom there are many: 133,000 millionaires and seven billionaires, including Bill Gates of Microsoft.

His father, Bill Gates Sr., has poured his own money into backing Initiative 1098.

The tax would bring in $3 billion a year, to be spent mainly on education, which has suffered cutbacks as the state reels under a massive deficit.

Washington is one of only seven states without any income tax. The proposal would create a five percent rate on income over $200,000 for individuals and $400,000 for couples; a nine percent rate kicks in at half a million dollars on individuals and a million for couples.

"Let's say a couple earns $500,000," Stahl said. "How much do you think they'll have to pay?"

"Well, they would pay $5,000, because that's five percent of the $100,000 on which they would pay," Gates explained.

"Oh, they would only pay on $100,000. They're exempt up to the $400,000," Stahl replied. "So they'd only pay on $100,000."

"Precisely," he replied. "Well, that's not very much…if you earn that kind of money," Stahl remarked.

"Precisely," Gates replied.

His son Bill is on his side along with the public employees' unions. The other side is a who's who of the state's big businesses: Boeing, Amazon and even Microsoft.

Bill Gates is still chairman, but Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer opposes the initiative, which is why they're calling this the battle of the billionaires.

"Is it awkward," Stahl said.

"The word awkward fits. Yes," Gates agreed.

Ballmer's side argues that the "soak the rich" tax would stifle high-tech innovation and lead to businesses moving out of the state. "60 Minutes" asked Microsoft, Amazon and Boeing for interviews but they all declined.

"Businesses are saying they'll leave," Stahl pointed out.

"Yes. But the real truth of the matter is that the people that own businesses are the people who will be paying the tax. And my analysis is they don't want to pay the tax," Gates said. "The rich guys don't want to pay the tax."

"Are you saying you just think they're greedy?" Stahl asked.

"No," he replied. "They're defensive. I guess you could call it greed, I suppose. Wanting to not write another check, sure," Gates said.

"Steve Ballmer?" Stahl asked. "He's worth $14 billion. You don't think he…"

"He's a very fine guy, too. The fact of the matter is there are 43 states in this country that have a state income tax. And in those states, the Microsofts or the ABCs, whatever, have not fled the state. I mean, it's just a gross exaggeration," Gates said.

But entrepreneur Bryan Mistele begs to disagree. "This initiative really is a nail in the coffin of small businesses and start ups in our state. It really impacts the tech community very heavily," he said.

"Nail in the coffin? You mean, kill it off?" Stahl asked.

"That's correct," Mistele said.

Mistele is the CEO of Inrix, a software company that monitors traffic around the world and provides data for GPS systems and sites like MapQuest. He says businesses would leave the state, especially high-tech companies like his that deal in data and aren't tied down by factories or assembly lines. He would consider moving some of his 60 employees to other states where he has offices.

Asked what other states he'd consider moving his business to, Mistele said, "Massachusetts, Florida, California."

"Massachusetts, income tax. Go ahead. California income tax," Stahl pointed out.

"Texas, Florida, Michigan, Colorado," he added.

"Okay, four out of the six have income taxes. I mean I've heard a lot of businessmen say what you're saying. And I keep wondering, 'Well, where are they going to move if they leave?'" Stahl remarked.

"Well, each state has its own competitive advantages. So by adding this additional burden, it makes us much less attractive," Mistele replied.

Adam Stites is another entrepreneur who opposes the initiative. Five years ago he moved his company, iStores, from Portland, Ore. across the Columbia River, to Vancouver, Wash., just nine miles away.

"It broke down to taxes," Stites explained. "Oregon has the highest income tax in the United States, and Washington has the lowest at zero percent."

iStores is the largest online retailer of paint ball equipment.

Stites has been hiring new staff for a new company he acquired that sells prank novelties. Under the new tax, he would have to pay $50,000 a year and that, he says, would hamper his ability to expand any further.

"This money, if it passes, will go specifically to education, 'cause they've been cutting schools and things like that. So what is Washington State supposed to do about its schools in terms of revenue?" Stahl asked Stites.

"I think the state, in aggregate, needs to take a look at its expenses," he replied.

"Like?" Stahl asked.

"I've had opportunity in Portland to see cars being washed by third party - washing firms, cleaning cars on the weekends, for state vehicles. I don't have someone who cleans my car in a van, and waxes...," Stites said.

When Stahl pointed out that's in Portland, Stites said, "It's in Portland, but I think it's indicative of government spending."

But the state budget has already been cut by $5 billion, and the governor, Christine Gregoire, says they're at the bone.

"To cut people off hospice I think is immoral. To cut children off health care, to cut their education so they don't have a chance at a decent future I think that would result in an immoral budget," Gov. Gregoire told Stahl.

She says she doesn't understand why so many of the state's high-tech CEOs, who are always complaining about the woeful state of American education, are so opposed to paying this tax for schools.

"These businesses that want the educated workforce, they're against this. What do they say to you when you challenge them on this?" Stahl asked the governor.

"I tell them I have the utmost respect for them. These are great CEOs. And I say to them, 'Here is the problem. You always want us to invest more in education. And now you say no. So, my question to you, if not this, then what? Don't just tell me no,'" she replied.

Asked what they say to her, Gregoire told Stahl, "They don't have an answer, Lesley."

The initiative was way ahead in the polls until the opposition started airing ads saying 1098 is a slippery slope.

Polls now show the middle class thinks they too will be hit with income taxes. And the high-tech entrepreneurs we met say there's a fairness issue: Bill Gates got to start Microsoft without an income tax.

And this is something you hear a lot: that they find it curious Gates is supporting an income tax now. "I believe the Gates' have already made most of their money, so they wouldn't be taxed under a new income tax structure in our state," Bryan Mistele said.

"They wouldn't be taxed at all? No," Stahl said.

"Well, for people who've already made their money and paid taxes in this state, that money wouldn't be taxed again. It's only for people who are earning new money in this state," he replied.

"Well, that's ridiculous. I mean, my son will pay a huge, huge income tax," Bill Gates Sr. told Stahl.

"He will?" Stahl asked.

"Come on, he's the richest man in the country!" Gates said. "How could anybody think he isn't going to pay a huge income tax?"

"What is the income?" Stahl asked.

"What does a person with 50 billion dollars have for income? This conversation isn't making any sense," he replied.

Bill Gates would pay multi-millions in taxes on the income from his investments.

"And he wants to. He's told you that? He's for this?" Stahl asked.

"Well, 'wants' to is a little strong," Gates said. "He is for it. He's very willing."

But, as David Stockman will tell you, that attitude is hard to find. "We've demonized taxes. All right. We've created almost the idea they're a metaphysical evil," he said.

Still, he says there should be a one-time 15 percent surtax on the wealthy that he estimates would cut the national debt in half.

"In 1985, the top five percent of the households, wealthiest five percent, had net worth of $8 trillion, which is a lot. Today, after serial bubble after serial bubble, the top five percent have net worth of $40 trillion," he explained. "The top five percent have gained more wealth than the whole human race had created prior to 1980."

"Of course it would never pass. There's the rub," Stahl remarked.

"There's the rub," he agreed.

The antipathy to raising any taxes or making any real spending cuts, whether in Washington D.C. or Washington State, is so intense, Stockman despairs that when Congress returns after the election, they'll do what they often do: nothing.

"I remember that great expression, 'Let's kick the can down the road,'" Stahl said. "That became kind of the mantra."

"Yeah, and it still is today," Stockman agreed.

"Just kick it down the road," she said. "We'll solve it tomorrow."

"Kicking the can down the road, except it's no longer a can," Stockman said. "It's a giant junkyard."


the video is on the link i pasted above....