Good job girl.

Keep it up. We know that we are on the right track.

Ignore the begrudgers.

See you tomorrow.

So what do you call the entire population of the United States of America saddled with a debt that we have no benefit in?

I call that SLAVERY Trent.

A Russian Serf is merely a SLAVE not unlike the Black Slaves of our country. And as I am quite certain all slaves will agree on; “A serf by any other name is still a slave. I mean you DO know that it is “serf” not surf, right?

You are aware that those of us who think we own real estate really don’t right? Property rights are down the tubes, you know that right? You know that the government can and will seize anything you own, without one thought correct?

Ok, serfs only worked the land, they didn’t own it. Not unlike our farmers that are paid not to grow what they want to on THEIR OWN LAND, right? I rest my case.

For someone who claims to be out of the mainstream, I think you need to check your navigational devices.

Syntax error aside. If your techno babble makes you feel safer, I can understand that. I suppose If you want to call me ignorant, insensitive and insufferably stupid, then you should at least have your facts straight. You’re kind of the Jerry Springer of the “non-mainstream media” aren’t you? Cutting people down and calling them stupid, is kind of a Rush Limbaugh RUSH for you if you know what I am getting at, correct?

Syntax error, sSpoken like a person who is so plugged in to their technology, they live in their own “virtual world”.

Wake up and smell the coffee.

Just because you are on the internet, does not make you out of the mainstream, in fact I think that BECAUSE you are on the internet, you may just be new Rupert Murdoch of the “non-mainstream”, mainstream media.

I am certain Alex Jones is impressed with your non-mainstream-ed-ness.

Thanks for the giggle Trent. You made my day.

Pam Ellison

That sentence has only 7 words, and yet you STILL managed to stuff a syntax error in there.

“This country is on very unstable ground, and only time will tell how bad it may get. ”

Are 4/5ths of people enslaved, literally? No.
This is rediculous. Comparing your current situation, or ours as a country/society, to that of Russian serfs is ignorant, insensitive, and insufferably stupid.

“I take it you get all your news from the mainstream media?”

….is that a joke? I RUN IPR, a non-mainstream media outlet.

I am willing to try to fight against what is going on, that is more than I can say for the two party system. Perhaps you are more naieve than you think about what is going on in this country.

I take it you get all your news from the mainstream media?

This is why people dont take third party activists seriously. You do NOT honestly think this, and if you do–you have an enormously ignorant understanding of serfdom in Russia.

I am saying that a flat tax across the board with everyone paying the same percentage of their income with no deductions, would be more fair and would constrain government from getting into all of the areas they are not constitutionally responsible for.

As long as the tax code continues to be so vague and convoluted, they will continue to rob us more and more each year and continue to grow the government as much as they can. I believe I heard a report the other night on MacNeil Lehrer that the number of government jobs are taking over the number of private sector jobs.

So it appears we create bureaucracy to create jobs, rather than simplifying the tax code, having everyone across the board pay the same percentage regardless of income and stimulate the economy by investing in the private sector and the new technologies that need to be manufactured in order to get our country to be strong and self sufficient again.

We need to have transparent taxation and straightforward accounting. I don’t know how we are accounting all of these bailouts currently, but I cannot believe that more people are not crying FOWL!!!

We are no better off than the serfs were in 19th century Russia and at the turn of the century. When we are forced to pay for a debt that we had no part in, this is Slavery.

I don’t know if I have helped clear up your questions or not, Ross, but I have tried.

Flat taxation is the most transparent, fair tax that is out there. There are many machinations of the system, but in my reading on this, it seems to be true.

Time for bed.

Pam Ellison

Currently, they can rely on deductions that bring their tax burdens down considerably through loopholes and such. If you have everyone pay the same percentage of THEIR income, without deductions, isn’t that a more fair system?

As far as mdh’s comment about there is no government than no government. Isn’t that what we have now. We aren’t at complete anarchy but it is right around the corner. I have some libertarian views, but most of them refer to individual freedoms of choice as well as to privacy and giving people some space and time for a private life. As long as they are not harming anyone in their personal lives, does government have the right to intrude? I say no, but if you Have a government as we do, I think we have a prime example of what levels people will sink to when greed is involved. De-regulation of everything does not make sense when we get to this level, because the rich will take care of themselves, even if it means laying off their workers, as long as they have out of sight income, why should they care about everyone else. I am by no means a communist but I do lean towards a socialist democracy on some fronts. For instance, the fire department, the police department, public libraries and public schools are examples of socialistic concepts. We all pay for these because very few of us would be able to protect ourselves from crime or from fire in our homes. Very few of us would be able to build our own roads wherever we choose to travel, etc. But I am tired of the labels we constrict ourselves with, by saying, this is socialistic, this is communist, this is liberal, this is conservative. Maybe the 21st Century should be a new era where we drop labels and just look at the full spectrum of solutions without labelling them, and look at workability and sound common sense about solving problems. I say that the person that comes to the table with the best idea for change that is viable, workable and may solve the problem at hand, should win the day. Sometimes we never even discuss ideas that are viable because we are so predisposed to whether it is an idea rooted in our western cultures way of democracy. I think Plato had it right when he stated in “The Republic” that a democratic republic has a shelf life of about 200 years before it will digress into anarchy due largely to the greed an power of a few. This also is caused by unbridled freedom, without the responsibility. Remember folks our rights end at the tip of our noses, before it affects others around us, we need to have some mode of responsibilities for others. And we also need to value the work of all people instead of just the Wall Street moneymakers and those that have untold wealth. If the garbage man ceases to pick up the garbage, we soon find out how necessary he is to the chain of responsibility in our lives. Can we just be more inclusive of everyone, can we really try to respect everyone’s point of view, even if we don’t hold to it ourselves? Can we respect and actually like each other even when we don’t agree on every issue? I think this can be realistic, and I believe a new party can address this, by deliberately and with consensus designing it to be so.

I guess our experiment will tell if we can.
I don’t believe that No Government is the Best Government, but I do believe that we need to limit the size and scope and make certain that justice is part of the mix. Not just for the moneyed or the privileged, but for everyone. Not just for Republicans or Democrats but for those that put their belief in other ideas as well.

When we begin to see our government put us on the hook for a tax burden that we have no stake in, I draw the line. This is slavery, and I don’t believe that is why we came to America, only to be subjects to a kingdom again.

Enjoy the beautiful day, and think about how you might make a difference to someone today, that is in a positive way.

Cheers,

Pam Ellison

There’s no government like no government.

In any case, I believe that everyone should be paying the same percentage, and obviously that will be very different from everyone else in terms of total given, but the percentage would be the same amount, and therefore fairer with much less paperwork.

No, I don’t believe so, because if you look at the impact of greed out there, there appears to be no limit of what people want. I think they would just expect all the more from lobbyists, in spite of a pay raise for themselves. That is just plain old human nature. I think we have seen enough of the bad side of that in the past six months haven’t we?

With all due respect, if I as a business person were to craft the bail out legislation with as little teeth in it than these members of Congress did, I would not only be fired from my job, I would be tarred and feathered to boot and most likely also run out of the country on a rail.

They already make much more than the majority of the people they represent. I think that it should be public “service” not the public “trough”. Their jobs just require exercising common sense, and understanding of the issues and lots of research and reading and the ability to listen to their constituents.

These are not the requirements of brain surgeons pr rocket scientists, and they should be paid on a par with the average pay of their constituents, no more, no less. They need to serve for a time and go back to the private sector, the longer they stay the more they are rewarded. It is clearly not based on merit.

When some of our elected officials are asking us to consider merit pay for teachers, then perhaps we should ask them if they would like to have that system as well. I think you will find they do not.

Thanks for your comments and questions.

Pam Ellison