QUOTE (Lord Madhammer @ Jun 2 2008, 04:10 PM) 
*buys on the internet*
yeah, the flat tax sounds awesome to me
yeah, the flat tax sounds awesome to me
Fair Tax =/= flat tax
Fair Tax =/= flat tax
QUOTE (Stormtrooper53 @ Jun 2 2008, 04:25 PM)
QUOTE (Lord Madhammer @ Jun 2 2008, 04:10 PM)
*buys on the internet*
yeah, the fair tax sounds awesome to me
yeah, the fair tax sounds awesome to me
Fair Tax =/= flat tax
fixed
that's what I meant to say
so seriously, if all government revenue is to come via sales tax, does that mean that we're conceding the sales tax for internet purchases thing?
The CA Board of Equalization gonna have a tough time trying to hound internet buyers for 35% taxes on purchases from overseas... They can't even get the 8.25%
The short answer is "yes."
But keep in mind that the Fair Tax abolishes ALL federal withholdings from your paycheck. Which would you prefer? Getting to take home your whole paycheck every week/month or not paying sales tax on the $100 you spend every year on Transformers and whatever else you buy on the intarnet (Pr0n).
Also, under the Fair Tax you do not pay sales tax on used items like TFs off Ebay.
Fair Tax FAQs
US Customs would be responsible for collecting tax on retail import items. (Boats, cars, etc.)
But keep in mind that the Fair Tax abolishes ALL federal withholdings from your paycheck. Which would you prefer? Getting to take home your whole paycheck every week/month or not paying sales tax on the $100 you spend every year on Transformers and whatever else you buy on the intarnet (Pr0n).
Also, under the Fair Tax you do not pay sales tax on used items like TFs off Ebay.
Fair Tax FAQs
QUOTE (Glue @ Jun 2 2008, 04:30 PM)
The CA Board of Equalization gonna have a tough time trying to hound internet buyers for 35% taxes on purchases from overseas... They can't even get the 8.25%
US Customs would be responsible for collecting tax on retail import items. (Boats, cars, etc.)
jesus, 35% sales tax
so does that apply to all commodities, everything? A lot of businesses would need to massively restructure their budgets if the fair tax were to happen.
so does that apply to all commodities, everything? A lot of businesses would need to massively restructure their budgets if the fair tax were to happen.
QUOTE (Lord Madhammer @ Jun 2 2008, 04:40 PM)
jesus, 35% sales tax
so does that apply to all commodities, everything? A lot of businesses would need to massively restructure their budgets if the fair tax were to happen.
so does that apply to all commodities, everything? A lot of businesses would need to massively restructure their budgets if the fair tax were to happen.
Opponents argue that the tax rate is 30%. Proponents say its more like 23%. What a lot of people freak out about is that they think they will walk into Wal-Mart, buy $100 worht of Zip-Loc bags (or whatever) and end up paying 23% tax on top of that. What would actually happen, according to proponents, is that all the embedded taxes in the cost of that item (which we all already pay, we just don't realize it) are removed from the final product. So what used to cost $100 retail would end up costing $77 and you'd end up paying, ba-da-da-da-ba-dum...$100.00 for it. That's the idiot's version, but that's basically the way it would work. So there wouldn't be much need for budget restructuring for anyone, individual or company.
Business to business purchases for the purpose of production are not taxed. So if Company A, buys $1 million in widgets from Company B for the purpose of producing Brand X, that purchase is not subject to the Fair Tax. At least until Joe Schmo walks into Wal-Mart to buy Brand X.
Under our current structure, Company A pays tax on said widgets, passes the cost on to Joe Schmo at the retail level, and Joe Schmo has no idea.
Doesn't take into account stuff like value-added taxes. But yes, with our current system, most non-deductible items (pretty much just about everything people buy) end up costing you.., in a state like CA, twice as much as whatever's listed on the tag (consider not just your tax rate for federal and state, but the contribution from your employer that can't go directly to you). But like I said, people would rather kid themselves and think that $100 item doesn't really cost them $200 rather than pay $100 for something listed at $77. Seriously.
also, the fair tax only applies to new goods and services, can only be paid on a single item once and you get a prebate to cover the cost of taxes on basic need taxable items such as electricity, natural gas etc. its hard to explain but not as hard as the current code. go to the website given by ST53 or buy the books written on it. you might try looking up Boortz on youtube and find one of his rants. just some ways to find out more about it. a lot of people are trying to get it put in place and have been for years but it keeps getting blocked in congress.
(all of my congressman have gone on record as supporters thanks to letters written by their constituents)
(all of my congressman have gone on record as supporters thanks to letters written by their constituents)
SERIOUSLY BACK ON TOPIC
Why the f'ck are we still tolerating this ashole?
QUOTE
Ahmadinejad says Israel will soon disappear
16 hours ago
TEHRAN (AFP) — Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad predicted on Monday that Muslims would uproot "satanic powers" and repeated his controversial belief that Israel will soon disappear, the Mehr news agency reported.
"I must announce that the Zionist regime (Israel), with a 60-year record of genocide, plunder, invasion and betrayal is about to die and will soon be erased from the geographical scene," Ahmadinejad said.
"Today, the time for the fall of the satanic power of the United States has come and the countdown to the annihilation of the emperor of power and wealth has started."
The White House quickly dismissed Ahmadinejad's latest broadside against Israel and accused him of having "total disregard" for the Iranian people's hopes and needs.
Since taking the presidency in August 2005, the Iranian president has repeatedly provoked international outrage by predicting Israel is doomed to disappear.
"I tell you that with the unity and awareness of all the Islamic countries all the satanic powers will soon be destroyed," he said to a group of foreign visitors ahead of the 19th anniversary of the death of revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
Ahmadinejad also again expressed his apocalyptic vision that tyranny in the world be abolished by the return to earth of the Mahdi, the 12th imam of Shiite Islam, alongside great religious figures including Jesus Christ.
"With the appearance of the promised saviour... and his companions such as Jesus Christ, tyranny will be soon be eradicated in the world."
Ahmadinejad has always been a devotee of the Mahdi, who Shiites believe disappeared more than a thousand years ago and who will return one day to usher in a new era of peace and harmony.
His emphasis on the Mahdi has been a cause of controversy inside Iran with critics saying he would be better solving bread-and-butter domestic problems rather than talking about Iran's divine responsibility.
In Washington, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino hit out at the "bombastic" Ahmadinejad.
"Unfortunately (Iranians are) being led by a leader who has total disregard for their thoughts, their feelings, their desires, their freedom, their justice, their democracy," Perino said.
"It's that kind of rhetoric that just serves to further isolate the Iranian people," she said. "We'll let him go on and be bombastic if he wants, and ignore him."
The exchanges come as UN atomic watchdog chief Mohamed ElBaradei on Monday urged "full disclosure" from Iran over its nuclear programme.
In his opening address to the summer meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency's 35-member board of governors in Vienna, ElBaradei said it was time for Tehran to come clean over its past and present nuclear activities -- particularly allegations that it hid key information about weaponisation.
Noting that the IAEA had spent the past five years seeking to verify Iran's nuclear ambitions, ElBaradei said time was running out.
"While substantial progress has been made ... it is essential that the agency be able to reach a conclusion regarding the nature of Iran's programme at the earliest possible date," he said.
"This depends primarily on Iran demonstrating the necessary transparency and providing full disclosure. I again urge them to be fully forthcoming in this regard".
According to intelligence gathered by 10 different countries and passed on to the IAEA, Iran had been carrying out weaponisation studies until just a few years ago.
Iran has repeatedly dismissed the intelligence as fabricated.
16 hours ago
TEHRAN (AFP) — Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad predicted on Monday that Muslims would uproot "satanic powers" and repeated his controversial belief that Israel will soon disappear, the Mehr news agency reported.
"I must announce that the Zionist regime (Israel), with a 60-year record of genocide, plunder, invasion and betrayal is about to die and will soon be erased from the geographical scene," Ahmadinejad said.
"Today, the time for the fall of the satanic power of the United States has come and the countdown to the annihilation of the emperor of power and wealth has started."
The White House quickly dismissed Ahmadinejad's latest broadside against Israel and accused him of having "total disregard" for the Iranian people's hopes and needs.
Since taking the presidency in August 2005, the Iranian president has repeatedly provoked international outrage by predicting Israel is doomed to disappear.
"I tell you that with the unity and awareness of all the Islamic countries all the satanic powers will soon be destroyed," he said to a group of foreign visitors ahead of the 19th anniversary of the death of revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
Ahmadinejad also again expressed his apocalyptic vision that tyranny in the world be abolished by the return to earth of the Mahdi, the 12th imam of Shiite Islam, alongside great religious figures including Jesus Christ.
"With the appearance of the promised saviour... and his companions such as Jesus Christ, tyranny will be soon be eradicated in the world."
Ahmadinejad has always been a devotee of the Mahdi, who Shiites believe disappeared more than a thousand years ago and who will return one day to usher in a new era of peace and harmony.
His emphasis on the Mahdi has been a cause of controversy inside Iran with critics saying he would be better solving bread-and-butter domestic problems rather than talking about Iran's divine responsibility.
In Washington, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino hit out at the "bombastic" Ahmadinejad.
"Unfortunately (Iranians are) being led by a leader who has total disregard for their thoughts, their feelings, their desires, their freedom, their justice, their democracy," Perino said.
"It's that kind of rhetoric that just serves to further isolate the Iranian people," she said. "We'll let him go on and be bombastic if he wants, and ignore him."
The exchanges come as UN atomic watchdog chief Mohamed ElBaradei on Monday urged "full disclosure" from Iran over its nuclear programme.
In his opening address to the summer meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency's 35-member board of governors in Vienna, ElBaradei said it was time for Tehran to come clean over its past and present nuclear activities -- particularly allegations that it hid key information about weaponisation.
Noting that the IAEA had spent the past five years seeking to verify Iran's nuclear ambitions, ElBaradei said time was running out.
"While substantial progress has been made ... it is essential that the agency be able to reach a conclusion regarding the nature of Iran's programme at the earliest possible date," he said.
"This depends primarily on Iran demonstrating the necessary transparency and providing full disclosure. I again urge them to be fully forthcoming in this regard".
According to intelligence gathered by 10 different countries and passed on to the IAEA, Iran had been carrying out weaponisation studies until just a few years ago.
Iran has repeatedly dismissed the intelligence as fabricated.
Why the f'ck are we still tolerating this ashole?
I'm sure it'd just cost us a drop on the bucket to take him out, but we're just sitting around and looking like our economy is all jacked up, y'know, to lure him into a false sense of security..
He's an elected official, and all indications are that he won't even be in office anymore by the time the next US president is elected.
QUOTE (Lord Madhammer @ Jun 3 2008, 07:20 AM)
He's an elected official, and all indications are that he won't even be in office anymore by the time the next US president is elected.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,363606,00.html
QUOTE
Report: Israeli Minister Says 'We Will Attack Iran' if Nuke Program Continues
Friday, June 06, 2008
JERUSALEM " Israel will attack Iran if it doesn't abandon its nuclear program, a Cabinet minister hoping to replace embattled Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was quoted Friday as saying.
Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz also said Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad "will disappear before Israel does," the Yediot Ahronot daily reported. Ahmadinejad has called repeatedly for Israel's destruction.
Mofaz's spokeswoman did not immediately return a call seeking comment on the remarks, which were much more explicit than anything Olmert himself has said. Olmert has gone no further than hinting that Israel was prepared to use force against Iranian nuclear facilities, saying only Tuesday that "the Iranian threat must be stopped by all means. "
According to the newspaper report, Mofaz " a former chief of staff and defense minister " has concluded that international sanctions haven't curbed Tehran's nuclear ambitions.
"If Iran continues its nuclear arms program " we will attack it," the newspaper quoted Mofaz as saying. "The sanctions aren't effective. There will be no choice but to attack Iran to halt the Iranian nuclear program."
There is a precedent for Israeli military action: In 1981, Israeli planes destroyed an unfinished Iraqi reactor.
An Israeli military strike against Iran would have U.S. backing, Mofaz was quoted as saying.
In Washington this week, Iran dominated Olmert's meetings with U.S. President George W. Bush, the Israeli leader told reporters. And Bush sought to reassure Israelis who are worried about the U.S. commitment to keeping Iran from obtaining a nuclear bomb, saying, "It's very important for the world to take the Iranian threat quite seriously, which the United States does."
Iran insists its nuclear program is peaceful and designed to produce energy.
Mofaz's bellicose comments on Iran coincide with the launching of his campaign to replace Olmert as head of Israel's governing Kadima Party if a corruption probe pushes Olmert out of office. Mofaz is carving out a hawkish position, and earlier this week, spoke out against returning the Golan Heights, captured in the 1967 Mideast war, to Syria.
Syria and Israel recently disclosed they have resumed peace talks, with Turkey as go-between.
A recent poll of Kadima members showed the more centrist Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni easily besting Mofaz in a party leadership race.
Police are investigating Olmert on suspicion of bribe-taking, campaign funding violations and money laundering.
Olmert has said he would only resign if indicted. So far, no charges have been brought against him, but a key witness in the corruption scandal has accused the prime minister of taking hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, in part to finance a lavish lifestyle.
Friday, June 06, 2008
JERUSALEM " Israel will attack Iran if it doesn't abandon its nuclear program, a Cabinet minister hoping to replace embattled Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was quoted Friday as saying.
Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz also said Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad "will disappear before Israel does," the Yediot Ahronot daily reported. Ahmadinejad has called repeatedly for Israel's destruction.
Mofaz's spokeswoman did not immediately return a call seeking comment on the remarks, which were much more explicit than anything Olmert himself has said. Olmert has gone no further than hinting that Israel was prepared to use force against Iranian nuclear facilities, saying only Tuesday that "the Iranian threat must be stopped by all means. "
According to the newspaper report, Mofaz " a former chief of staff and defense minister " has concluded that international sanctions haven't curbed Tehran's nuclear ambitions.
"If Iran continues its nuclear arms program " we will attack it," the newspaper quoted Mofaz as saying. "The sanctions aren't effective. There will be no choice but to attack Iran to halt the Iranian nuclear program."
There is a precedent for Israeli military action: In 1981, Israeli planes destroyed an unfinished Iraqi reactor.
An Israeli military strike against Iran would have U.S. backing, Mofaz was quoted as saying.
In Washington this week, Iran dominated Olmert's meetings with U.S. President George W. Bush, the Israeli leader told reporters. And Bush sought to reassure Israelis who are worried about the U.S. commitment to keeping Iran from obtaining a nuclear bomb, saying, "It's very important for the world to take the Iranian threat quite seriously, which the United States does."
Iran insists its nuclear program is peaceful and designed to produce energy.
Mofaz's bellicose comments on Iran coincide with the launching of his campaign to replace Olmert as head of Israel's governing Kadima Party if a corruption probe pushes Olmert out of office. Mofaz is carving out a hawkish position, and earlier this week, spoke out against returning the Golan Heights, captured in the 1967 Mideast war, to Syria.
Syria and Israel recently disclosed they have resumed peace talks, with Turkey as go-between.
A recent poll of Kadima members showed the more centrist Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni easily besting Mofaz in a party leadership race.
Police are investigating Olmert on suspicion of bribe-taking, campaign funding violations and money laundering.
Olmert has said he would only resign if indicted. So far, no charges have been brought against him, but a key witness in the corruption scandal has accused the prime minister of taking hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, in part to finance a lavish lifestyle.
From thinking about it to we are going to do it.
One of the worst ideas ever. What people don't realize is that there are a lot of moderate people in Iran who are embarrassed by Ahmedinejad, but this bluster from the US and Israel is forcing the Iranian moderates to unify with the Iranian leadership. Iran isn't about to commit suicide (Israel has the ability to turn Iran into glass and they know it), and we're playing into the Iranian leadership's hands by taking this aggressive posture. They know that strong words will provoke a strong reaction from the Bush administration and Israel, which helps them because the Iranian people stop worrying about their leadership and start worrying about their survival. Which of course never occurs to people here because for whatever reason, they think the best way to solve a problem is to wave your dick at it. If we were to actually engage Tehran in a more rational manner, that would give the moderates in the country the freedom to stand up to the government themselves. But that's never gonna happen as long as we're trapping them in this foxhole mindset.
It's really frustrating to see people get caught up in all of this. And to not realize that they're being played.
It's really frustrating to see people get caught up in all of this. And to not realize that they're being played.
QUOTE (Lord Madhammer @ Jun 6 2008, 09:39 AM)
One of the worst ideas ever. What people don't realize is that there are a lot of moderate people in Iran who are embarrassed by Ahmedinejad, but this bluster from the US and Israel is forcing the Iranian moderates to unify with the Iranian leadership. Iran isn't about to commit suicide (Israel has the ability to turn Iran into glass and they know it), and we're playing into the Iranian leadership's hands by taking this aggressive posture. They know that strong words will provoke a strong reaction from the Bush administration and Israel, which helps them because the Iranian people stop worrying about their leadership and start worrying about their survival. Which of course never occurs to people here because for whatever reason, they think the best way to solve a problem is to wave your dick at it. If we were to actually engage Tehran in a more rational manner, that would give the moderates in the country the freedom to stand up to the government themselves. But that's never gonna happen as long as we're trapping them in this foxhole mindset.
QUOTE (Lord Madhammer @ Jun 6 2008, 09:39 AM)
It's really frustrating to see people get caught up in all of this. And to not realize that they're being played.
It's like the Democratic primaries all over again!
QUOTE (Glue @ Jun 6 2008, 02:42 PM)
It's like the Democratic primaries all over again!
At the rate its going this dude would so run outta time, but he's gotta hold his position, which ever one he chooses.
QUOTE (ROSEDOGGYDOG @ Jun 3 2008, 01:48 PM)
Why the f'ck are we still tolerating this ashole?
QUOTE (Haggisjin @ Jun 7 2008, 01:05 AM)
QUOTE (ROSEDOGGYDOG @ Jun 3 2008, 01:48 PM)
Why the f'ck are we still tolerating this ashole?
THE U.S.A., BENDING SOVERIEGN NATIONS TO OUR WILL SINCE 1865. CUZ WE KNOW WHAT'S BEST FOR YOU.
Hey, if Israel attacks Iran, does that mean the US can stop paying Israel not to attack anyone outside their borders?
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