Obama

[seasalt101]

Originally Posted by Darthtang AW
No, social security was solved when it was first placed into effect...Politicians screwed that up when the started legislaturing it further.
ok i'll buy that but me being a recipient of it now they still claim they will run out of funding hence the government always raising the retirement age they want you to die off so you don't collect...tobin

 

[darthtang aw]

Originally Posted by seasalt101
ok i'll buy that but me being a recipient of it now they still claim they will run out of funding hence the government always raising the retirement age they want you to die off so you don't collect...tobin

They have been saying that for decades...yet no one has corrected the problem...which leads to me to wonder if it truly is as bad of a problem as they say.

 

[seasalt101]

Originally Posted by Darthtang AW
They have been saying that for decades...yet no one has corrected the problem...which leads to me to wonder if it truly is as bad of a problem as they say.
again true but they still keep moving up the retirement age...tobin

 

[darthtang aw]

They are doing that because people are living longer than they used to. Imagine if you got SS at 45..live to 80...hell that would be almost 40 years of pay given to you...even though the person only worked 30 years.....it actually needed to be done.

 

[reefraff]

Got to give Bush credit for being brave enough to at least try to do something with Social Security.
So far the only candidates I've heard give specific answers to questions on any kind of consistant basis is Huckabee, Paul and Mike Gravel.

 

[rylan1]

Originally Posted by seasalt101
i don't like him after 9/11 he voted against the war, he wants to establish relations with long time enemies, he screwed up with statements against pakistan what else is he an underground terrorist himself just waiting to be unveiled? i see no good from him...tobin
Now that we are 5 years in, most politicians are saying that they are against the war and that they would have voted against it if they knew that it would result to what it has... This guy was one of the few that actually did vote against it- What's wrong with that?
Second, our foreign policy is one of our biggest problems. I don't understand why we can't try to establish relations with our long time enemies. By doing so we may be able to reconcile and actually better ourselves, reduce our threats, and make this world a more peaceful place to live. I don't understand what is wrong with this- Are you saying that our current foreign policy is something to be proud of?
And someone else mentioned experience, and Hillary doesn't have much more experience than Obama. He seems to have ideas on how we can make this country better, where as the other candidates want to keep things as the status quo. We need a new direction as a country in these changing times and he seems to be the only one who realizes this.

 

[rylan1]

Originally Posted by seasalt101
again true but they still keep moving up the retirement age...tobin
The problem with SS is that there's not enough working people to fund it. The baby boomer generation is retiring and they are the bulk of the population. So there are less workers who are paying taxes and more retirees who seek benefits. The baby boomers are also living longer because of advances in medicine and healthier lifestyles. So this is not an easy problem to solve and it is a problem that won't go away soon and should last the next 20-25 yrs. Only way to improve the SS fund is to put more money into it or delay the age in which people recieve benefits.
So you look at the US now and you look at this war that is going on, and then you look at the deep..deep...deep hole that we are in with our national debt. And I ask, how are we/can we fund SS. If we raise taxes then which one of these areas will the money go? I say we should focus as a country to what our real priorites are and what we need now, instead of spending trillions on a war, sending space shuttles up, rebuilding countries we bomb. We need to rebuild or infrastructure, prepare our kids for a global economy, provide healthcare,and take care of our own first. We then should focus on humanitarian things around the world.

 

[reefraff]

Obama's "opinion" on the war was just that, we wasn't a senator at the time and had no access to the intellegence. I wouldn't start giving him foreign policy kudos because of it.

 

[reefraff]

Here's where the Social Security issue is so alarming, or at least should be. Payments into social security have out paced expendatures and the excess money has gone right into the general fund and is spent. So all those FICA taxes we pay are actually adding to the Federal budget to pay for Bridges to nowhere and buildings with Robert Byrds name on them. In about 2014 Social Security goes into the red and money from the general budget will actually have to be used to pay for Social Security. That is a huge event. It will be like going from getting a monthly bonus to taking a pay cut in a matter of months. Because the spinless politicians will wait till the last second to act there is going to be a 2 or three year period of spending cuts and tax increases that will be like nothing this country has never seen.
Had the Social Security funds been kept seperate from the general fund from the begining (which Roosevelt opposed) there would have been plenty of money available to fund the system.

 

[rylan1]

Originally Posted by reefraff
Here's where the Social Security issue is so alarming, or at least should be. Payments into social security have out paced expendatures and the excess money has gone right into the general fund and is spent. So all those FICA taxes we pay are actually adding to the Federal budget to pay for Bridges to nowhere and buildings with Robert Byrds name on them. In about 2014 Social Security goes into the red and money from the general budget will actually have to be used to pay for Social Security. That is a huge event. It will be like going from getting a monthly bonus to taking a pay cut in a matter of months. Because the spinless politicians will wait till the last second to act there is going to be a 2 or three year period of spending cuts and tax increases that will be like nothing this country has never seen.
Had the Social Security funds been kept seperate from the general fund from the begining (which Roosevelt opposed) there would have been plenty of money available to fund the system.
If what you say is actually true... what happens to the tax money that is supposed to go to the general fund and to our interstate systems? Why is the gas tax so high? This does not make since because we are so far in debt and money is being misused. Then on top of it... with this bridge collapse in Minn and now we are hearing that many of our bridges 50% or so are below standards and need rebuilt. I don't understand what the delay is and why no one is talking about a solution. But you are right, there should be a huge surplus because of all the baby boomers who have made more than any other group in our history have been paying into this for 30-40 years.

 

[rylan1]

Originally Posted by rbaldino
I suppose you pick the race/culture you feel you most closely associate with.
no its picked for you.

 

[1journeyman]

Originally Posted by Rylan1
Now that we are 5 years in, most politicians are saying that they are against the war and that they would have voted against it if they knew that it would result to what it has... This guy was one of the few that actually did vote against it- What's wrong with that? ....
Where did he vote against it?

 

[skipperdz]

anyone else hear about him stating he'd use our nuclear weapons? if we were attacked again. he'd go into a country even though he was told not to. little scarey since we are trying to get other countries to disassemble their nuclear weapons. i know the democrates didnt want to hear that. im pretty sure is knocking himself out of the running so it doesnt really matter what color he is or what "race" he claims to be or not be

 

[reefraff]

Originally Posted by Rylan1
If what you say is actually true... what happens to the tax money that is supposed to go to the general fund and to our interstate systems? Why is the gas tax so high? This does not make since because we are so far in debt and money is being misused. Then on top of it... with this bridge collapse in Minn and now we are hearing that many of our bridges 50% or so are below standards and need rebuilt. I don't understand what the delay is and why no one is talking about a solution. But you are right, there should be a huge surplus because of all the baby boomers who have made more than any other group in our history have been paying into this for 30-40 years.

There is a trust fund but the problem is it is full of US government bonds. When cash is needed the bonds will have to be cashed in which of course the government has to pay. It would be like you telling your kid you were going to hold their paper route money for 5 years so you can then pay it back to them so they will have gas money once they start driving. Every week you take the cash and deposit it in your checking account which of course is spent for house and car payments, food and utilities. In turn you make an IOU (Bond) in which you promise to repay the principle with interest at a future date. Every week you place a new IOU in a safe for five years. If at the end of 5 years your checking account is overdrawn where are you going to get the money to pay your kid back?

 

[nvmycj]

What happened to the original question? Is he ashamed of being "European-American?" (or is there such a thing?)

 

[rylan1]

Originally Posted by NVMYCJ
What happened to the original question? Is he ashamed of being "European-American?" (or is there such a thing?)
No he is not ashamed, but if you saw him walking down the street and knew nothing about him, except the look of him and the color of his skin.... what race would you say he is? Many black people are of mixed race, but you would never know it. There are also many very light/fair skinned blacks that may appear as caucasion, but they are still black. Its not really about what race you identify more with, you either consider yourself of mixed heritage or you just say you are black. Either way these people will never be accepted as being or saying they are white.

 

[nvmycj]

Originally Posted by Rylan1
Either way these people will never be accepted as being or saying they are white.

"These people" makes is sound like they're some sort of victim.
Who won't accept "them"? Whites? Blacks? Yellows? Reds? Some of our far off green friends?

"No he is not ashamed, but if you saw him walking down the street and knew nothing about him, except the look of him and the color of his skin.... what race would you say he is?"
I think if he'd call himself white, he'd be afraid of losing the "black vote", as CNN calls it. Don't you?

 

[crimzy]

Nobody should be ashamed of his/her race. I am not ashamed of being Caucasion-American. Having trouble trying to trace my roots back to Caucasia, though.

 

[rylan1]

Originally Posted by SUDC
Well, first off German and Irish are Nationalities not races.
I think most people have a problem with him because he has less political experience than any candidate i can ever think of other than Ross Perot.
I'd say the opposite of you. If he wasn't half black, he wouldn't even be a candidate. IMO, that is the only reason he is even around.
I disagree with you here. His race is more of a obstacle than a reason to vote for him. And when you talk about experience Obama has held an office longer than Hilary Clinton, who's first official office was when she became a senator at the end of 2000.
Obama's office began in the state as a Illinois state senator in 1997 through 2003 when he was elected to U.S sentate in 2004. He is a graduate from Columbia and Harvard Law. He seems to me to be just as qualified as any other candidate. I would say take a look at his achievements and you'll see that he has the credentials and the drive and the intelligence to be a presidential candidate.

 

[rylan1]

Originally Posted by NVMYCJ
"These people" makes is sound like they're some sort of victim.
Who won't accept "them"? Whites? Blacks? Yellows? Reds? Some of our far off green friends?

"No he is not ashamed, but if you saw him walking down the street and knew nothing about him, except the look of him and the color of his skin.... what race would you say he is?"
I think if he'd call himself white, he'd be afraid of losing the "black vote", as CNN calls it. Don't you?
when I refer to "these people" I mean people of mixed heritage. But you didn't answer the question.
And no just because he is black doesn't mean you automatically get the "black vote" please give us more credit to decide on a canditate based on their merit and what they bring to the table, instead of us making any decision based on how a person looks.
Some early election polls had H. Clinton as having more of the "black vote" then Obama, which in part was because they were unaware of his political views.
But white people in general IMO would not and have not based on our history accepted people of mixed race as saying they are white. And scientifically, black genes are more dominant and are more often expressed in a person who is mixed, and more often than not...people place people in categories based on the way that they look.