according to that line of thinking a politician doing ANYTHING of the will of the people is buying votes. you forget they work for the PEOPLE, if they do what the PEOPLE WANT then they will get votes, THAT IS THEIR JOB, THAT IS THE ENTIRE POINT IN A DEMOCRACY and how it WILL work.
if you don't like politicians doing what the people want may I suggest moving to a non-democratic country.
It only becomes a problem once people are voting themselves money or "benefits" that others have to pay for.
How do you see it as sustainable? Especially once the ones paying the bill becomes less than half of the voters? and the beneficiaries become more than half? How can that be maintained without basically stealing more and more money from the minority?
The only fix would be if politicians couldn't pick and chose the recipients. All should bear SOME of the cost. Then everyone would have "skin in the game".... Do you see how it would help?
It only becomes a problem once people are voting themselves money or "benefits" that others have to pay for.
How do you see it as sustainable? Especially once the ones paying the bill becomes less than half of the voters? and the beneficiaries become more than half? How can that be maintained without basically stealing more and more money from the minority?
The only fix would be if politicians couldn't pick and chose the recipients. All should bear SOME of the cost. Then everyone would have "skin in the game".... Do you see how it would help?
you need to read this, and step away from the republican kool-aid, yes some changes need made, but drastic changes, no. Social Security: Bush's Lies vs. Reality
you need to read this, and step away from the republican kool-aid, yes some changes need made, but drastic changes, no. Social Security: Bush's Lies vs. Reality
Never drank the so called kool-aid. Not a Republican. Don't trust entrenched politicians. I also was not talking just about Social Security. I am talking about ALL dispersments that go to some and not to others. Those are votes being bought. Also, preferential policies toward one industry or another are politicians being bought. It is on both sides. When the politicians have power to choose who gets what, who pays what, and who has to provide what, that breeds the corruption and wasted money that we see today. Again, from both sides.
The television program "60 Minutes" had a rather interesting segment on tax breaks for big businesses last night. It appears most are leaving the USA because of the low or no taxes offered by other countries. The glitch is any money earned outside the USA must stay outside the USA or they get penalized at a tax rate of 35%. Because of this, they keep the money offshore, and American jobs are lost permanently.
Ticker Company CEO Name Year Compensation ($)
LCAPA LIBERTY MEDIA CORP Gregory B. Maffei 2009 87,493,565
VIA.B VIACOM INC Philippe P. Dauman 2010 84,515,308
OXY OCCIDENTAL PETROLEUM CORP Ray R. Irani 2010 76,107,010
ORCL ORACLE CORP Lawrence J. Ellison 2010 70,143,075
CBS CBS CORP Leslie Moonves 2010 57,729,020
GBL GAMCO INVESTORS INC Mario J. Gabelli 2010 56,608,736
MCK MCKESSON CORP John H. Hammergren 2010 54,584,021
JEF JEFFERIES GROUP INC Richard B. Handler 2010 47,349,121
YHOO YAHOO INC Carol Bartz 2009 47,229,273
DISCA DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS, INC. David M. Zaslav 2010 42,589,296
ANF ABERCROMBIE & FITCH Michael S. Jeffries 2009 36,335,644
DTV DIRECTV Michael D. White 2010 32,932,618
SWK STANLEY BLACK & DECKER INC John F. Lundgren 2010 32,730,259
IBM INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORP S. J. Palmisano 2010 31,718,608
CMCSA COMCAST CORP Brian L. Roberts 2010 31,058,959
NVR NVR INC Paul C. Saville 2010 30,879,812
DIS DISNEY (WALT) CO Robert A. Iger 2010 29,617,964
SNDK SANDISK CORP Eli Harari 2010 29,545,272
CVS CVS CAREMARK CORP Thomas M. Ryan 2010 29,216,536
XOM EXXON MOBIL CORP R. W. Tillerson 2010 28,952,558
JNJ JOHNSON & JOHNSON William C. Weldon 2010 28,720,491
RL POLO RALPH LAUREN CP Ralph Lauren 2010 27,700,007
FCX FREEPORT MCMORAN COPPER & GOLD INC Richard C. Adkerson 2009 27,622,333
T AT&T INC Randall L. Stephenson 2010 27,341,628
F FORD MOTOR CO Alan Mulally 2010 26,520,515
TWX TIME WARNER INC Jeffrey L. Bewkes 2010 26,303,071
FIS FIDELITY NATIONAL INFO SVCS Frank R. Martire 2010 25,761,432
ABT ABBOTT LABORATORIES Miles D. White 2010 25,564,283
EMR EMERSON ELECTRIC CO D. N. Farr 2010 24,805,965
KO COCA-COLA CO Muhtar Kent 2010 24,782,017
WRB BERKLEY (W R) CORP William R. Berkley 2010 24,633,641
SPG SIMON PROPERTY GROUP INC David Simon 2010 24,559,899
APC ANADARKO PETROLEUM CORP James T. Hackett 2010 24,328,710
VRX.1 VALEANT PHARMACEUTICALS -OLD J. Michael Pearson 2009 24,047,455
MO ALTRIA GROUP INC Michael E. Szymanczyk 2010 24,046,719
BLK BLACKROCK INC Laurence D. Fink 2010 23,839,294
RAI REYNOLDS AMERICAN INC Susan M. Ivey 2010 23,813,815
MMM 3M CO George W. Buckley 2010 23,709,094
NBR NABORS INDUSTRIES LTD Eugene M. Isenberg 2009 23,257,988
HAS HASBRO INC Brian Goldner 2010 23,153,471
MYL MYLAN INC Robert J. Coury 2010 22,935,936
NOC NORTHROP GRUMMAN CORP Wesley G. Bush 2010 22,849,412
NWSA NEWS CORP K. Rupert Murdoch 2010 22,725,275
PRU PRUDENTIAL FINANCIAL INC John R. Strangfeld Jr. 2010 22,572,279
TRW TRW AUTOMOTIVE HOLDINGS CORP John C. Plant 2010 22,562,466
UTX UNITED TECHNOLOGIES CORP Louis Ch?nevert 2010 22,086,161
LMT LOCKHEED MARTIN CORP Robert J. Stevens 2010 21,897,820
SD SANDRIDGE ENERGY INC Tom L. Ward 2010 21,756,257
SBUX STARBUCKS CORP Howard Schultz 2010 21,733,013
PM PHILIP MORRIS INTERNATIONAL Louis C. Camilleri 2010 21,656,906
NLY ANNALY CAPITAL MANAGEMENT Michael A.J. Farrell 2009 21,533,549
GE GENERAL ELECTRIC CO Jeffrey R. Immelt 2010 21,428,765
UNF UNIFIRST CORP Ronald D. Croatti 2010 21,370,201
DOW DOW CHEMICAL Andrew N. Liveris 2010 21,337,757
AMGN AMGEN INC Kevin W. Sharer 2010 21,138,133
CYH COMMUNITY HEALTH SYSTEMS INC Wayne T. Smith 2010 20,960,569
JPM JPMORGAN CHASE & CO James Dimon 2010 20,816,289
AON AON CORP Gregory C. Case 2010 20,783,301
LTD LIMITED BRANDS INC Leslie H. Wexner 2010 20,508,490
TRV TRAVELERS COS INC Jay S. Fishman 2010 20,415,060
JNS JANUS CAPITAL GROUP INC Richard M. Weil 2010 20,337,868
CB CHUBB CORP John D. Finnegan 2010 20,259,761
CNX CONSOL ENERGY INC J. Brett Harvey 2010 20,157,821
HON HONEYWELL INTERNATIONAL INC David M. Cote 2010 20,154,012
AMG AFFILIATED MANAGERS GRP INC Sean M. Healey 2010 19,968,321
NUAN NUANCE COMMUNICATIONS INC Paul A. Ricci 2010 19,772,130
BA BOEING CO W. James McNerney Jr. 2010 19,740,023
ATML ATMEL CORP Steven Laub 2010 19,379,768
BK BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON CORP ROBERT P. KELLY 2010 19,379,257
APA APACHE CORP G. Steven Farris 2010 19,294,429
KFT KRAFT FOODS INC Irene Rosenfeld 2010 19,287,983
HNZ HEINZ (H J) CO William R. Johnson 2010 19,006,263
WFC WELLS FARGO & CO John G. Stumpf 2010 18,973,722
CSCO CISCO SYSTEMS INC John T. Chambers 2010 18,871,875
USB U S BANCORP Richard K. Davis 2010 18,771,205
WMT WAL-MART STORES INC Michael T. Duke 2011 18,712,721
RTN RAYTHEON CO William H. Swanson 2009 18,636,872
CHK CHESAPEAKE ENERGY CORP Aubrey K. McClendon 2009 18,551,296
HES HESS CORP John B. Hess 2010 18,188,947
ATI ALLEGHENY TECHNOLOGIES INC L. Patrick Hassey 2010 18,177,410
VZ VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS INC Ivan G. Seidenberg 2010 18,166,006
AEO AMERN EAGLE OUTFITTERS INC James V. O?Donnell 2009 17,946,755
COP CONOCOPHILLIPS James J. Mulva 2010 17,932,895
IP INTERNATIONAL PAPER CO John V. Faraci 2010 17,849,343
MEE MASSEY ENERGY CO D. L. Blankenship 2009 17,835,837
ABII ABRAXIS BIOSCIENCE INC Lonnie Moulder 2009 17,777,883
AMP AMERIPRISE FINANCIAL INC James M. Cracchiolo 2010 17,708,144
QCOM QUALCOMM INC Paul E. Jacobs 2010 17,626,939
UTHR UNITED THERAPEUTICS CORP Martine A. Rothblatt 2009 17,591,098
JCI JOHNSON CONTROLS INC Stephen A. Roell 2010 17,563,931
TWC TIME WARNER CABLE INC Glenn A. Britt 2010 17,422,329
PFE PFIZER INC Ian C. Read 2010 17,396,112
TJX TJX COMPANIES INC Carol Meyrowitz 2010 17,362,112
PH PARKER-HANNIFIN CORP Donald E. Washkewicz 2010 17,312,616
PRE PARTNERRE LTD Patrick A. Thiele 2010 17,124,446
DHR DANAHER CORP H. Lawrence Culp Jr. 2010 17,032,244
D DOMINION RESOURCES INC Thomas F. Farrell II 2010 16,924,385
APD AIR PRODUCTS & CHEMICALS INC John E. McGlade 2010 16,918,012
MRK MERCK & CO Richard T. Clark 2009 16,838,367
AXP AMERICAN EXPRESS CO K. I. Chenault 2010 16,813,272
__________________
I'll believe corporations are persons when Texas executes one.: LBJ's Ghost
World's richest man loses more than $6.5 billion of net worth within a week
aww..................
While ordinary folks like you and I are busy fussing over what bank will offer us the cheapest home loan, Mukesh Ambani, the world?s fifth richest man with a net worth of $46 billion is all set to build a 22-storey home for his family of four. The gizmo-filled posh pad, named ?Antilla? is going to be the world?s most expensive home costing US $2 billion. The building will stand 550-ft tall above the ground and will have 400,000 sq. ft. of interior space when it?s completed in January 2009. So, what exactly has the head of Mumbai-based petrochemical giant Reliance Industries dished out on? Well, for starters, the home has six storey of parking space alone after which the living quarters with nine elevators and a host of storage rooms and lounges begin.
Then there?s a huge ballroom, dual staircases with silver-covered railing, indoor/outdoor bar, green rooms, powder rooms, and even an ?entourage? room for security guards and assistants to relax in. apparently Mrs. Ambani was quite keen on maintaining ingenuity in the whole scheme of things, so she made sure that no two floors looked alike.
What?s even more astonishing is that the stately home staunchly follows the principles of Vaastu, an Indian version of Feng Shui throughout the building with strategically placed furniture and accessories. Then there?s the health level with a swimming pool, a yoga studio and even an ice spa where residents can enjoy flurries of man-made snow! The details about he family?s bedrooms a re little hard to come by as yet but we do know that the whole home is decked up with tasteful indoor and outdoor garden and Indian artifacts and decoration.
The topmost levels will exclusively be used to entertain business guests. So how many people will it take to maintain such a loft? An unofficial figure listed the number of employees for the home at 600, but at the rate this palatial home is getting blinged out, we wont be entirely surprised if the number increased by a couple of hundreds more!
Le Billionaire: World?s most exclusive, expensive Vodka costs $3.7 million Most Expensive Vodka by Leon Verres
Most Expensive Vodka by Leon Verres, called Billionaire Vodka.
Leon Verres has been known for producing luxury goods, including some of the world?s most exclusive and expensive alcoholic beverages. They earlier created the Le? Billionaire Champagne, which was the world?s most exclusive and expensive version of the beverage, which came dressed in its own designer pouch. The next product in the elite category is the Le Billionaire Vodka, which is going to take the crown for being the most expensive and exclusive beverage of its kind in the world. Similar to the Champagne, this bottle too shall have handcrafted diamond and gold detailing, and come dressed in its tailored designer cover.
The bottle in question will come in two primary versions: the purple hue and the white one. On both sides, the bottle will have 3000 precious diamonds which mainly make it so precious and rather blingy. The fact that most of them have been individually handcrafted especially adds to the exclusivity factor, which also is the case for the Swarovski crystals on the gold labeling - especially the dot on the ?I? of billionaire and the ?B? itself
__________________
I'll believe corporations are persons when Texas executes one.: LBJ's Ghost
I really don't give a rip as long as they aren't buying that stuff with my tax dollars...
We all pay for Tarp and the sins of the mortgage swindlers. We all pay when BIG OIL gets tax cuts and we get a recession in return. They broke this economy so why not let them shoulder some of the recovery burdens?
__________________
I'll believe corporations are persons when Texas executes one.: LBJ's Ghost
We all pay for Tarp and the sins of the mortgage swindlers. We all pay when BIG OIL gets tax cuts and we get a recession in return. They broke this economy so why not let them shoulder some of the recovery burdens?
I have always been against the Tarp garbage. I know some of those guys got ridiculous bonus' after their failures. No arguments from me there. I think that the bonus' were in their contracts (as sick as that is...). As far as "big oil" tax cuts... I think that if they were removed, gas prices would likely go up. Good or bad, I think that would be the likely outcome. My concerns are more with money wasted that should never be spent by the federal government. Also, the fact that the government gets to chose the winners and losers is the root of the problem. They choose who gets tax increases, who gets subsidies, who gets breaks, who gets money for this and that..... Opens the door to the kinds of messes we are in now.
As far as "big oil" tax cuts... I think that if they were removed, gas prices would likely go up. Good or bad, I think that would be the likely outcome.
In the quarter just prior to the Bush tax cuts Exxon Netted (after taxes) $4.5 BILLION DOLLARS. That's 18 BILLION a year without the tax gift from Bush. If gas goes up with that sort of profit blame GREED, not supplies or taxes.
Oil should never be allowed to exist in a speculative market. The Saudis told us all along there were no shortages and that the pricing was due to speculation in that market.
__________________
__________________
I'll believe corporations are persons when Texas executes one.: LBJ's Ghost
Linear Mode
