The Emporia Gazette

Hawk1E (anonymous) says...

Just wondering what everyone here thought of an Obabma-Gore ticket?!

Also of those here who would vote yes for national health care system, based on the Canadian or Brittish system?!

May 18, 2008 at 2:27 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

CAFEmporia (anonymous) says...

I like Al Gore, boring though he might be. He would bring experience and great knowledge and balance to the administration. However, if you mean that Gore might be the VP again, I doubt it would work. In fact, I seriously doubt he would be interested in any elected position again. He seems to have been cured of that.

I would prefer the Scandinavian model for health insurance, myself. The Canadian system is more expensive than most single payer programs and is fraught with problems. It's still less than half of what the US pays (per capita) for health care. The British system is wonderful in terms of its ability to respond to emergency situations including large scale problems and individual emergencies. However, it is less effective when it comes to the work flows of standard (but serious) surgeries as well as handling elective surgical choices.

I don't know about Canada, but the UK's health care system results in slightly longer lifespans but significantly increased health spans - meaning, the amount of time a person lives in good health. The US lags far behind most developed nations in terms of individual health on a national scale. The poor, particularly, but also ethnic minorities are less healthy as groups than otherwise which is a shame.

May 19, 2008 at 5:32 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

methusla (anonymous) says...

I have been following the Democratic primary elections closely and a large number of Democrats say that if Obama is the Democratic nominee to run for president in November that they will definately vote Republican, because they do not like nor trust Obama and it won't matter who his running mate will be or that they will have to up put with more corrupt Republican Rule of the U.S.

May 24, 2008 at 11:12 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

methusla (anonymous) says...

Since we are talking "Politics" and what may be good for the country, here are a few of what I think are primary things that should be done to turn the fiasco the U.S. is presently experiencing around !
1. Throw any and all lobbyists and lobbying out of Washington
D.C. and make it a Federal Crime, (severe penalties) for
any business, corporation,individual, or country to sponser
or hire any one to lobby any congressman, etc. for
legislation, laws, etc. that will favor them.
2. Make it a Federal Crime, with (severe penalties) for any
congressman or anyone elected to public office who
engages in taking favors or payoffs from anyone suspected
of representing a business, corporation, individual, country,
etc.
3. Repeal the Tax Cut for the wealthy and enact a flat rate tax
so that everyone will pay the same tax rate and enact a
Windfall Profit Tax so large wealthy corporations will pay
heavily for price manipulating, gouging, etc.
4. Set a 2 term limit on Senators and Congressmen.
These are just a few of the things that I believe need to be done to turn this country around and make it liveable again.
I do have more ideas, but there is not enough space here to list all of them.

May 24, 2008 at 11:43 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

jayhawker (anonymous) says...

The flat tax is an excellent idea for this simple reason - everyone will pay something in an equitable fashion. So many refer to President Bush's tax cuts, which applied across the board, as a tax cut for the wealthy. Why? Because the wealthy paid more to begin with, and still do, but because they shared in the reduction with the rest of us, it appeared that they benefited more than others. Further, President Bush's tax cut actually eliminated many people in the lower incomes from any taxes at all. It is the latter that is problematic - now, you have a large segment of the population who do not pay for services, and consequently have no stake in controlling the cost of more and new programs. A flat tax would fix this problem, as well as ending the falicy that only the wealthy benefited from the Bush tax cuts.

May 25, 2008 at 5:14 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

methusla (anonymous) says...

jayhawker- I have to disagree with you on the idea that the Bush tax cut was applied across the board, because both the GAO and the very savy and intelligent economists have said that the Bush tax cuts would and mostly favored the wealthy, most of all the wealthiest 5% of the rich.
I know for a fact that my sister who makes around $27,000 dollars per year did not benefit from any tax cut what so ever.
As for me, I am too old to benefit from any tax cut.
Also doing away with Capitol Gains taxes benefitted only those with the means to be able to own property, etc. that they can turn into extra income wealth,without having to pay taxes on it, therefore the Bush tax cut and abolishment of the Capitol Gains tax benefits only those who can afford the taxes in the first place.
However I do agree that a flat rate tax and Capitol Gains tax would make sure that everyone pays their fare share of taxes instead of putting a burden on the middle class taxpayer.
As for the big to do about Bushs' Economic Stimulus Refund, people who think or thought that this is or was free money are sadly mistaken, it was our tax money in the first place and we will be paying it back sooner or later. I would rather have seen the Government roll gasoline prices back to 2004 prices and then regulate gasoline prices from that roll back and make the oil companies start using the oil comming out of the Alaskan oil fields domestically instead of selling it cheaply overseas and buying high priced foreign oil, just so they can pump up their profits and price gouge the american people.

May 25, 2008 at 10:50 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

jayhawker (anonymous) says...

Methusla: It is an absolute fact that the Bush tax cuts were across the board. All of the tax tables, in every income bracket, were reduced by the same percentage. That, sir, is a fact.

I agree with you that we should be drilling Alaska for oil, and that a flat tax is an excellent idea.

May 27, 2008 at 6:36 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

methusla (anonymous) says...

jayhawker- Sir, I know for a black and white on paper fact that as I mentioned before, my sister absolutely did not benefit from a Bush tax cut and I know quite a few middle class taxpayers that did not benefit from the great Bush tax cut and as I mentioned before the GAO (government accounting office) and most economists have stated publicly that the only people that benefited or would benefit from the Bush tax cut were, was and would be the wealthy, in particular the wealthiest 5% of americans and large wealthy corporations and that Sir is a matter of public record.
You may have benefited from a Bush tax cut and that makes you either very lucky or wealthy.
And I would imagine if you polled most middle class and lower class taxpayers you would find that they also did not benefit from a Bush tax cut

May 27, 2008 at 10:54 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

methusla (anonymous) says...

P.S.
We do not need to drill for more oil in Alaska, there is already millions of barrels of oil coming out of Alaska now, unfortunately only 5% to !0% of the oil coming out of Alaska is being used domestically, it is simply being sold cheaply to foreign countrys and high priced foreign oil is being bought in order to pad some oil companys' CEO and stockholders pocket and bank accounts.
This country needs to mandate the developement and use of alternate energy, such as ethanol, methanol, bio-diesel, wind power, solar power, geo-thermal electric generation, methanol fired electric generation ( just think of all the waste and garbage generated every day by us americans that turns into methanol gas), this country lags way behind other countrys in alternate energy developement and resources.
I could go on and on about what this country could do to turn the current situation it is in around, if only we had leaders in this country who weren't corrupted by lobbyists and special interest money and had the guts to punish large wealthy corporations who put their own greed and stockholders greed before this country and its people.
I appoligize for ranting on and on but I get so angry when I see how our elected leaders and lawmakers have sold this country and its people out for their own greedy purposes.

May 27, 2008 at 11:17 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

methusla (anonymous) says...

Again I appoligize for mispelling methane gas, I called it methanol gas.

May 27, 2008 at 11:20 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

jayhawker (anonymous) says...

Methusla: I respect your opinions and thank you for writing. We can learn from each other. I can tell that you have spent time thinking about these issues. Not to beat a dead horse, and I'll say no more after this, but you are simply wrong about the Bush tax cuts. They were across the board and every taxpayer got the same percentage decrease. Obviously (and understandably) you are not willing to take my word on it. The only way that I know that you can check me out is to do more research, or perhaps talk to a Tax Accountant.

I enjoy reading your blog entries, even though we only agree on the flat tax.

May 28, 2008 at 8:37 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )