Leslie, will you be able to determine what our fair share is?

Leslie, if you are elected, can I still eat at Chik Fil A? Can I also get the combo meal, you know that comes with fries. Will fries be taxed or outlawed?

I was talking to my son, age 9, this morning about wealth redistribution. He thinks it's a terrible idea. If someone works hard and makes a lot of money, he should be able to keep it.

He thinks that's like deciding if some kids have too many toys and others too few, and taking some toys from the kids with too many toys and giving them to the kids with too few.

What if a kid just has a lot of relatives who give a lot of toys? What if a kid doesn't have a lot of toys, because his parents feel that he shouldn't have a lot of toys?

Who decides what is too many and too few toys?

Just a thought, but have you considered teaching your kid that sharing is good; and that he might want to give some of his many toys to kids that don't have any? He might even feel good about being a nice, caring person.

There's a difference between sharing because you want to (or your parents encouraging sharing to reduce the clutter), versus someone telling you that you must share, simply because someone arbitrarily decides what is a sufficient numbers for a kid.

Unfortunately, we live in a real world that needs to be policed. Fortunately, we live in a nation where 'we the people' can vote to create a more caring country. Just like the 'legalists' in the time of Christ, we often don't love our neighbors. Our human nature tempts us to care for only those we choose to care for, while those we choose not to care for suffer. Who cares? We too often don't. If we were truly a caring people, we wouldn't need to be policed, nor would we have to legislate caring. It is such a paradox that while we have a separation of church and state, so many claim they want a more Christian nation until it comes to following Christs's admonishments to love our neighbors, and to care for widows, orphans, and the disadvantaged. This election day, I will vote for candidates who understand this Biblical admonishment to people of all time, "Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others." - Philippians 2:4

What gives you this strange impression that those whom you deem worthy of being the "police" are somehow different and more Christ like than we the people? Is that just taken for granted? Whose interest does Barack Obama have when he claims to have our interest, yet there are more people out of the labor force than ever before?

redistribution in baracks though process is based on statistics that the rich get richer and the poor are getting poorer thus taxing the rich and holding them to it unlike Mitt romenys 13.5% tax rate. He is not saying to take money from the wealthy and hand it out. A no brainer my friends. No offense but if the second richest guy in the us and maybe the world says he needs to pay more taxes, we should listen. Companies like GE who did not pay a dime in federal income tax 2 years ago should be slapped. Its a shame.

Employees will be beaten until morale improves. About as effective as asking people to work while making it unnecessary.

A certain percentage will simply vote to not work. Another percentage will see this as okay. Another percentage will think they first group really does want to work and just needs more, to get ready to work.

If the combined totals 50%+ of the voting public?

Truely a no brainer, my friends.

The Fed Government,or State/Local gov for that matter, CANNOT give anything to anybody that it does NOT-with the threat of imprisonment-take from somebody else. As a small business owner, I can tell you that high or higher taxes do NOT stimulate me to invest more to expand my business, hire additional employees,or provide better benefits/higher wages to my existing employees. In fact–just the opposite is true. I understand the need to “help” those less fortunate – I contribute to various charities. If you/others feel such a morale obligation to give more to the less fortunate(less motivated)by all means feel free to donate more of YOUR own money–don’t take mine! If you believe taxes for those in your tax bracket should be higher–donate!
ANY Fed Government spending outside of the 18 enumerated powers as outlined in the Constitution is not only WRONG and unconstitutional, it is theft and slavery. It makes individuals a slave to the Fed government.
Everybody has Rights. The Right to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. You do NOT have the Right to somebody else paying for your Food,Housing,Clothing, Shoes,Cell phone,TV,etc. !
And NO you do NOT have the Right to Health Care! If you believe you have the Right to health care you would have to believe that you have the RIGHT to make a doctor/nurse/pharmaceutical company to GIVE you their services! Making somebody work for you for free is SLAVERY! Taking from someone without their permission is Stealing!

Tom, Was not sure if your response was to my post, but had to comment. Small business is a whole other animal than the fortune 1000. Thats what I was reffering to. Hopefully and most likely you paid more than Mitt percentage wise. Thanks all.

very well said resident225. Like I said in a few posts before, I find republicans complain about stuff and govt. programs until its one of there own who needs them. And after re-reading toms post about not having the right to health care? Wow!!! Its 2012. Not 2012 BC. What a heartless thing to say. God help you if ever one of your kids, if you have them gets terribly sick and has no coverage because some cheap (&&*( freraking company did not offer a health plan. What a sad state of humans we have become.

Yeah, I say all the cheap freraking companies should all go out of business, then we triple the unemployment rate so 85% of us are on government programs. I heard this from the 18th richest guy so we should listen to him.

Can someone share the main points of the meeting last night. The LWV did not consider the occupancy space limits and a lot of us were turned away. Thanks.

Sorry, but the founding fathers had to write the bill of rights, to protect individuals from the government, since they experienced the corrupt and tyrannical powers governments used to oppress the individual. That is the fabric of how our country was founded, and the reason why our free enterprise system has fed more, housed more, and provides more to more people than any other in civilization. Your strange references to Christianity as the influence behind some government program are appalling. Lastly, your point towards the DOW, this is part of the problem we continue to experience, as the Fed pumps more and more trillions into the money supply, our dollar cheapens, and foreign coin is an easy buy as our gas prices escalate. Are you somehow a champion for today's economic indicators? Good grief, 88 million are no longer in the labor force, record foreclosures, 1% GDP, get some help in understanding what is going on.

No, not angry, just frustrated that there are so many Americans who really do not appreciate or understand our founding. People from all over the world come here, and we have people like Obama who want to make us like them.

DG Guy,
Thanks for posting some of the highlights. I would have like to have been there.

Resident 225 and Steve Novy: 1st, it says Promote the general welfare NOT PROVIDE !! 2nd, this Country is over $16 Trillion in DEBT. Do you not get it??
How do you two feel about passing all of that debt onto your kids, grand kids and great grand kids? They didn't ask for it and have absolutely no say in it?? Is THAT fair??
And stop with all this "fair share" crap all ready. The top 10% of wage earners pay well over 70% of all the federal income tax. The bottom 47% pay NO federal income taxes. Sound fair to you??
Also, MOST of these federal do/feel good programs were not even around 60-70 years ago. Tell me how in the heck this country and all of the people survived without them?? You people have NO Clue. The federal government has run amok and is out of control.

At the end of the day, we all have our opinions and views. We all will never agree on every topic. It so sad to me that when you say the bottom 47 percent pay no income tax, you are including the military. I ran a small business many years ago. It is hard, no doubt about it. But hey, life is tough all over. And maybe you and a group of you should go back 60 or 70 years ago. Experience it first hand. A lot of obama haters and paranoid people claiming he is against the constitutuion. Like I said, IQ's are slipping in our country. To much hate because your ideaology is different. There use to be a thing back in the day called meeting someone halfway. That is no longer true in congress. And as for the small business, I folded tent and became something else. But I did not whine about my fair share of taxes!!! And I offered my employees a health plan. Was not a great plan but a simple hospitalization policy. The knife cuts bothways people. The 16 trillion dollar debt is not because of Welfare!!! Welfare is a part of it but not all of it. Unbelievable.

Hey Einstein, the reference to welfare in the Constitution is not the same thing as the Welfare program started in the 1960s.

Gee, thanks mccloud. And thanks to the einstein thing. I admit though, not quite as smart as einstein, but the ole IQ much higher than old GWBushes. Have a good day peoples. And Mccloud. Lighten up!!!

Last thing we need in DuPage County, another hardcore progressive as this Ms. Coolidge would appear. Progressive…just another word for leftist insanity. Recently escaped Chicago having had a family presence for over 100 years. Witnessed 1st hand what this wonderful notion called "progressivism" can and will do to a city. Chicago's insanity is already encroaching the Western burbs, don't let them gain a larger foothold!

It's obvious to me that you have disgust towards our country, so I will not continue in that direction. Your statements regarding tax cuts have no merit. You mention that you will grudgingly pay the taxes to make up for the deficits, is that what the goal here is? After all these years in our history, Obama will somehow obtain more revenue (False premise) and decide that he will pay down our debt? He will take your tax money and actually put it towards lowering the national debt? And somehow the economy will improve as Obama takes money out of the private sector, resulting in higher consumption, investment, productivity and employment How does this magic work?

Mccloud, you have to pay down the debt!!!! And you have to start somewhere. Obamas plan is to incease the taxes and cut loopholes for the top 2%. Romneys plan is, well we don't know for sure because the chicken sh-t he is, has not said it, but people in his party are thinking anyone with incomes from 131,000 to 350,000 will be hit the hardest. They say we will lose are mortage deductions. Either your in the top 2% or you are one of these people who rack up credit cards and never pay them off because its your logic we do not have to pay off debt? Explain to me that when he asked the congress and senate to cut programs and the republicans turned theres in, a ton of farm subsidies were not in the cuts? Well, it so happens that 5 of the republicans in congress owned the farms and said, no way. Cut someone else. Typical. Lead by example punks!! I love this new term progressive, Some ultra conservative nut job came up with it most likely. No, Roskam and any republican will not get my vote. They have done nothing to help us but make it worst the last 12 years . But they blame it on the black guy. You must have missed the news the night they had Cantor and Boehner on tape state that there mission was to block everything this man tried to do. We have been held captive by these 2 republican morons. And GW really screwed us. And those are facts BOY!!! Oh, thats right, you don't believe facts.

Pay down the debt? How can this country pay down it's debt when Obama / the Democratic Party believes that the taxpayers should pay for Sandra Fluke's (sp) birth control?? Or somebody else's cell phone? Or $500 Million to Solyndra???? What the heck is wrong with you people?? Your kids/grandkids are going to have to pay for this. Have you no shame????

Anybody that voted for Obama, or is thinking about voting for him again, how can you sit across the dinner table and look at your kids knowing that the policies Obama has put in place added over $6 TRILLION in debt on their heads??? Tell your grandchild it is his/her responsibility to pay for somebody elses' birth control, cell phone, food, clothes or what have you!!
Don't get me wrong I am ALL FOR charity and giving. But how/why are you allowing your kids/grandkids to be enslaved???

Dude, I sit accross the tablefrom my kids and tell them that the guy before obama added 10 trillion. Memory loss? Did you hear Romney on 60 minutes last night? He is going to do away with my wifes and I's only deductions of the mortgage interest. So now instead of paying 23% we are going to be paying about 28%. Do you not have any shame sir? Tom, based on your last post, it is a small part of a big problem. Birth control with all due respect is needed. But a whole other topic. How can you state enslavement when I am already enslaved by the wealthy and ideologies that got is in this big mess to begin with? It is truly amazing to me that the 8 years before obama was an abortion, but yet you folks just can't remember. Shame on who?

You really can't fix stupid.

How quickly we forget how we got into this mess of debt in the first place. Refresher...
In 1981 when Ronald Reagan took office our National Debt stood at $848 billion In 1989 when he left office it had increased to $2,698 trillion By 1993 when George H. left office it had increased to $4,188 trillion In 2001 when Clinton left office it had increased to $5,728 trillion In 2009 when George W. Bush left office it increased to $10,627 trillion Under President Obama as of today $16,053 trillion

How quickly we neglect to recognize that congress has the Federal power to spend. Nonetheless, does any of this history excuse Obama? In your mind I'm thinking it does.

Pam, No way. We had a 200 billion surplus when clinton left. Sorry. Creative numbers once again. Mccloud, you can't handle the truth. Bush spent 10 trillion!!!
1 war that we should not have gone into. Him and his republican buddies who the banks loved lifted all regs in 2004 off, thus creating one of the biggest messes in history. Then you have romney who said, we should not bail out GM for instance. Really Mitt? Hey my right wing fools and tea partiers, if you earn less than 300,000 a year, get your wallets out. Romneys no increase in taxes also means no more dedcutions. In his little mind thats not a tax increase.

Paul you are confusing a budget surplus with the national debt level. When Clinton left office there was a budget that spent less than it took in for that particular year. That would have slightly decreased the national debt. There was still a large national debt. Pam's numbers are correct and you are making a popular but very basic mistake. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_public_debt#National_debt_for_selected_years

DGguy, yes, I agree.

Paul you are not confused, you are just not educated.

I am very educated Mccloud. Not quite sure what you are. You have a good day Mccloud. Your a punk.

Thanks for the spelling lesson.

Rememer quale with potatoe?

Remember Biden: "three letter word - J.O.B.S." !!!