What's the most important thing going in the USA today?

Raees wrote: The most important thing going on in the USA today is health care for all Americans, IMHO.

I agree, good thing all Americans have always had and always will have access to health care.

Raees wrote: The most important thing going on in the USA today is health care for all Americans, IMHO.

I agree that's important for people who can't afford it but they are in the minority. And no, I'm not saying the minority doesn't matter, but in the big picture, our future will be very very bleek if we can't get a handle on the debt that is growing beyond our ability to pay. We have almost 50% of the population on dependant on the government in some way as it is. Just do the math sometime and imagine how we will be able to pay for healthcare, SS, Medicare, infrastructure, and every other government program WHEN we can no longer borrow money. And if you think we can borrow money forever to keep this ship afloat, I just can't understand that thinking.

I can't understand the mentality of allowing a segment of our population to go without health care/health insurance because we can't afford to help them, yet continue to support tax breaks and loopholes for the wealthy....who can afford to pay a little more. Says a lot about our priorities as a nation.

archer wrote: I can't understand the mentality of allowing a segment of our population to go without health care/health insurance because we can't afford to help them, yet continue to support tax breaks and loopholes for the wealthy....who can afford to pay a little more. Says a lot about our priorities as a nation.

Please compare the yearly cost of Medicaid and Medicare compared to Obama's plan to increase taxes on the rich an see how long those extra tax receipts last.

archer wrote: I can't understand the mentality of allowing a segment of our population to go without health care/health insurance because we can't afford to help them, yet continue to support tax breaks and loopholes for the wealthy....who can afford to pay a little more. Says a lot about our priorities as a nation.

Do the math sometime archer and tell me how we'll accomplish everything by taxing more without full employment, without a stable economy, without a handle on the debt. I understand it feels good to say we want to make sure everyone is taken care of but you have to look at the reality of how we are going to keep funding. You CAN NOT help your neighbor, friend, or family if you don't have adequate revenue to accomplish those goals. The government is no different except that we can print money which only prolongs the agony until the dollar becomes worthless. Look at the big picture.

The big picture? The big picture is that you, and your conservative buddies, seem to think that because raising revenue by letting the tax cuts for the wealthy expire won't solve all the problems then it shouldn't be done at all. To use your logic, cutting the money for ACA won't solve all our problems either, so we shouldn't do it.

Why is tso hard for some conservatives to understand a balanced approach to balancing a budget and reducing the deficit. The money has to come from somewhere, for every dollar that we don't raise from the wealthy that is a dollar taken from people who really can't afford it. Simple math....yet the desire by you and your buddies to protect the wealthy at the expense of everyone else is puzzling. Everyone is going to suffer, but somehow you don't think the wealthy should. When did they acquire protected class status. Personally, I want all the tax cuts to expire, along with raising rates on capitol gains, and estates. Then we can start looking at what is really important to us as a nation.

The US government already spends 3 dollars for every 2 dollars they bring in. Unless you go to a Euro system where everybody is paying 50% of their income as taxes can you start getting a Euro style healthcare system. There simply aren't enough rich out there to bleed.

bailey bud wrote: Important stuff doesn't happen in DC. It doesn't happen in a newsroom, boardroom, or a courtroom.

Want to see important? Go watch a maternity ward in a hospital, some time. Go to a wedding chapel. Go to a funeral home.
Visit a church, watch people pray, watch them give thanks for what little they have. Watch the priest encourage them and shepherd them.

Go to a school and watch a kid say their ABCs for the first time. Walk down to your neighborhood cul-du-sac, and watch a kid learn to ride their bike. Watch an 18 year old get notified they're admitted to college.

THAT's where you'll see important stuff happen.

This is actually the best answer, good post!

FredHayek wrote: The US government already spends 3 dollars for every 2 dollars they bring in. Unless you go to a Euro system where everybody is paying 50% of their income as taxes can you start getting a Euro style healthcare system. There simply aren't enough rich out there to bleed.

There you go again, higher taxes on the rich won't fix it all, therefore don't raise taxes on the rich. Crappy logic.....allowing the tax cuts to expire is but one part of the puzzle.

archer wrote:

FredHayek wrote: The US government already spends 3 dollars for every 2 dollars they bring in. Unless you go to a Euro system where everybody is paying 50% of their income as taxes can you start getting a Euro style healthcare system. There simply aren't enough rich out there to bleed.

There you go again, higher taxes on the rich won't fix it all, therefore don't raise taxes on the rich. Crappy logic.....allowing the tax cuts to expire is but one part of the puzzle.

Please explain what other puzzle pieces you have to make one trillion dollars a year. Wealth tax? 100% confiscation of people's estates? Seizing private businesses and farms to fund your healthcare plan? People lost trillions in wealth during the Obama recession and you still think we can afford a cadillac healthcare system by billing taxpayers.