KaskadskyjKozak

Every time I hear talk about rolling back Bush tax cuts or raising the marginal rates, I know exactly who that will ultimately affect - me and everyone else in the lower 90% of those actually paying taxes. The rich will get away scott-free. You want to convince me? Modify the AMT to progressivly notch up the minimum absolute tax rate on the wealthy. After computing taxes, you take a person's total income (including cap gains) and if it exceeds various thresholds, the minimum tax is an absolute percent of said income. Example for the dense here: say a guy makes $500K in salary, cap gains and whatever else, and then leveages deductions to only pay 10% of total income. Well, there is one new final step I am propsoing where the IRS says, sorry, you made $500 and the minimum tax for you is 15%. The guy that makes $1 million? 20%. Etc. As for Warren Buffet, I say tax that loud mouth at 90% :-)

The rich keep getting richer. True. But is it not a part of our cultural values here in America now for each guy to grab as much as he can? Whether it be a CEO, a movie star, a top-tier athlete, or a university President - don't they all demand a "competititve" salary with all the perks possible - even if that is 1000x what the guy at the bottom of the organization makes? It hits all levels of our society - fuck humility or moderation - get all you can - you deserve it and the next guy has it! If we really want to "fix" this, it needs to come from a paradigm shift in our culture and values. Maybe OWS can start to affect this - that's about the only way I could see some of the change they demand actually happening.

Sounds like you agree with me. IN GENERAL, Conservatives tend think rich people got there because of their own hard work, or at the very least that they deserve their good fortune. And certainly I've met enough rich people to know that hard-work is definitely the secret-sauce for success, but also it requires a certain amount of good fortune that many people are simply born without. Many of our most successful entrepreneurs would have been miserable failures had they been born without certain advantages. So many people are born with an amazing legacy which conservatives tend to discount -- they associate personal success with financial success more than I think is appropriate. Had I been born to a completely different legacy with different parents and different values I may have ended up one of those guys begging at a freeway on-ramp. Republicans tend to assume all americans have equal opportunity, and therefore rich people deserve their good fortunes. They tend to assume that the poor are there because of "their own poor choices." They tend to believe that merit and personal ability are the deciding factor for success. It's a cute idea, and I hear you and other conservatives make this argument ALL THE TIME, so it's amusing to hear you reject it while basically confirming it at the same time. Additionally, conservatives tend to be much more likely to assume the poor are simple "milking the system" and are more likely to use words like "welfare moms" and tend to be more distrustful of public assistance. This is because they think that success is defined by one's actions. In a large degree this is true, but not as much as they think. Conservatives also tend to refuse to accept that our capitalist system ensures that there will always be poor people. But of course, this is true. After all, the majority of people -- by definition -- cannot be above-average. If everyone were rich, nobody would be. I would much rather see conservatives admit that our capitalistic system ensures a certain percentage of underprivileged wage-earners but attempt to argue the poor are better off than in other economic systems. But, that would assume a level of non-bias that you just don't see these days. work on your listening skills and stop broad-brushing troking and attributing opinions and I might respond to you. later.

wrong. that's not how "they" think, but if it is easier for you to live in that myopic world-view, have at-it! Sorry kkk.....that is pretty money if you ask me. I have conservative friends and they think that exact way. It almost sounds like them exactly. I'm not gonna argue endlessly with you or Rob, but take this one part to start with "conservatives wrongly assume that rich people got rich on personal merit alone" Firstly "conservatives" don't all think exactly the same way, so Rob's comment sorely needs qualification. Secondly, many (most? a majority of?) conservatives don't make this point at all. The point I hear is that many who have succeeded have earned their success through hard work, rather than just sitting on their ass doing nothing (what many left-wingers state openly if not imply indirectly), or by just being "lucky", or by inheriting their wealth ("the silver spoon" argument). There are ample stories of US millionaires who started out poor and worked their way up from nothing. Sure, there are folks who inherit a fortune (e.g. the Kennedies ;-0 ) and those that just get lucky, but they are not the majority. Indeed many children of the rich end up being zeros, and once you go down a couple generations wealth tends to dissipate in families pretty quickly. Many conservatives also argue that in America we all have an *opportunity* to succeed. That is a far cry from claiming *anyone can do it*, yet alone guarantee outcomes. And what conservatives I know resist the most is the idea that it is the governments job to try to guarantee outcomes - primarily by wealth redistribution.

hmmmm, sounds kind of like the Tea Party, but with less political success. yes, and that comparison was made a lot during the reporting of OWS protests.

wrong. that's not how "they" think, but if it is easier for you to live in that myopic world-view, have at-it!

OWS folks have some legit gripes.

by "notice", do you mean with the olfactory sense?

Which of the four would make you feel *more* "settled"? Seriously, the best variant would be for Obama to decide not to run for reelection after all, the R party to select "none of the above" and 2-3 new parties put up a sane candidate each.

they propose solutions? that's news!

How to introduce your gf to climbing: "When the weather is nice from July through Sept, I will be climbing almost every weekend and some weekdays. Expect a trip a month or so in the winter, and two a month in the spring. This is what I love. I am mostly free in Novemeber! Get used to it. OK, gotta pack - see you Sunday night!" ;-)

Expensive watches, bling bang! You're dating yourself, think that whole oysters on a date thing is so 80's. Lame! Dirtbag alpinist chicks like sardines btw. Spartacus.

I'll be seeing a fitter, but hoped for some folks to chime in with boot x,y, and z. Coinciding a boot with a progressive sale would be awesome. If that does not work, I'll wait until next fall and pay full price if need be (I paid full price for the Mantras)

Some prefer oysters, others... ;-)

Nordica Speed Machine 8. They are a bit old. I have chicken legs - you can definitely see the achilles tendon, etc. I am currently cinching down my boots all the way on the top two buckles (which I only started to have to do this season), and am feeling a bit of slippage even when doing this. Boots are likely blown out after 6(?) seasons. Feet are on the wide side.

Hey folks, I got new Mantras this year and am looking to upgrade my boots (downhill, in-bounds) in the off-season while there are sales prices. I'd like something more responsive than my current boots. If anyone has good rec's for the mantras, I'd love to hear them. Thanks!

Does this mean Nastia has finally found a victim partner for Yocum Ridge?

Fixed the subject for ya.

KRUGMAN

http://www.truth-out.org/conservatives-twist-economic-debate/1329850101 TRUTH OUT DOT ORG!!!

being awake is over-rated

I could write up something about getting kids out on long hikes and non-technical summits (scrambles). Climbing is still a work in progress (we mostly just do the gym)

Human factors can indeed play a huge role and are worth study and repeated review.

You're next! ;-) One down, one to go btw, the fat guy is actually the youngest (Wolfgang)