Dueling tax rallies in Olympia

briano said on February 16, 2010 at 9:09 PM

phaedreus- Here in America you have the right to be in that 20% if you so desire by working hard and smart unless the government interferes with you. So ownership of how much wealth you possess is up to you that’s called free enterprise. The pilgrims when they landed on Plymouth Rock first tried redistribution of the wealth i.e. share and share alike. They nearly wiped themselves out. Why? No one wanted to produce because it was given to those that did not produce, or not produce as much as those that did. I.E. why should we work when others will provide for us? Naturally the pool of workers got smaller and smaller until they nearly starved to death. So out of desperation they abandoned that idea. Decided whatever you grow or make is yours to keep or trade hence they flourished. That’s free enterprise. Redistribution of wealth equals eventual death. That’s a FACT.

briano said on February 16, 2010 at 9:05 PM

Bob42663- That’s ridiculous, It’s almost like saying the egg came before the Chicken can’t happen. We middle class for the most part do not hire people. We work for people. If the people we work for are successful their business grows, they give raises, they hire more people, , more real money goes into circulation. More tax revenue generated. Business grows, give raises, hire more people, , more money goes into circulation. More tax revenue etc… See how that cycle works. Think logically it will come to you. I speak from experience I’ve been on both sides of that fence. If it weren’t for overregulation and excessive taxes I’d probably still be in Business for myself.

briano said on February 16, 2010 at 9:04 PM

donnielou; These are not my facts these are the FACTS! Whomever or whatever destroyed what his administration accomplished after the FACT is not the issue. I assure you if you dig deeper you will find the real reasons For the collapse. Sorry I’m not going to do all the work for you. I’ll just say this start with 1913.

bobknows said on February 16, 2010 at 10:22 AM

Government workers, welfare recipients, and everyone else on the government dole should not be allowed to vote. All they do is steal everyone else's hard work.

bobknows said on February 16, 2010 at 10:18 AM

You can always find hoards of greedy people who want the state to rob their neighbors and give them our money. Governess Haywire and her tax happy legislature must be retired.

phaedrus said on February 16, 2010 at 7:31 AM

What's equally interesting is that the last time the ownership of wealth was as out of balance as it is today (85% owned by only 20%) was in 1929, just before the crash. Over the next 30 years wealth was transferred back to the middle and working classes and the country thrived. For the last 30 years wealth has been increasingly consolidated back into the hands of the few, and here we are!

bob42263 said on February 16, 2010 at 7:15 AM

http://www.hyperhistory.com/online_n2/connections_n2/great_depression.html * The conservative Supreme Court strikes down federal child labor legislation. 1923 * President Warren Harding dies in office. Calvin Coolidge, becomes president. Coolidge is no less committed to laissez-faire and a non-interventionist government. * Supreme Court nullifies minimum wage for women in District of Columbia. 1924 * The stock market begins its spectacular rise. Bears little relation to the rest of the economy. 1925 * The top tax rate is lowered to 25 percent - the lowest top rate in the eight decades since World War I. 1928 * Between May 1928 and September 1929, the average prices of stocks will rise 40 percent. The boom is largely artificial. 1929 * Herbert Hoover becomes President. * Annual per-capita income is $750. More than half of all Americans are living below a minimum subsistence level. Sure worked real well, NOT!

bob42263 said on February 16, 2010 at 7:09 AM

Briano: I guess some people don't realize that Coolidge helped get our country into the first great depression with his short sighted policies. The exact same thing has happened with Reagan to Bush policies. It is ignorant and it does not work. With tax cuts to the wealthy you get booms and busts and the middle class suffers, no matter how some morons spin it. With a fair progressive tax system like we had from the 1940's until the end of the 70's you get a strong, steady economy where the middle class thrives. And anybody who understands economics knows that when the middle class thrives, everybody does well.

javajoe said on February 16, 2010 at 3:18 AM

Now I can sleep better. I lay awake at night just hoping our government can find another way to take more of my income to pay for the all important things they do. I know that unless they get that money I won't be getting those services I can't live without. You know the ones, those really important ones. The ones we can't live without.

rebaldave said on February 16, 2010 at 3:08 AM

Jackwong!! I had to laugh at tea party people need to watch Keith Olberman!! What a joke!! I had to do some web searching to find out who his guy is and you gotta be kidding me!! This guys a joke on MSNBC that only has about 382,000 viewers, so how many out of that watch him? There are probably more tea party people out here than MSNBC has viewers!! I sorry I can't stop laughing!! It's interesting how this movement has gained numbers and strength by people that are feed up with big government, not by people looking for a government hand out. I have seen your post and see that you are one of those people that think the hard working tax payers owe the lazy leaches and government more and more of their hard earned money!!

donnielou said on February 15, 2010 at 10:59 PM

And the next president, Herbert Hoover, you know the Republican. What did he do, he cut taxes. He refused to use Federal money to stimulate the economy. And we got the greatest crisis our country has ever seen. It took a Democrat, F.D.R, to get us out of what Coolidge and Hoover did to this country. Go check the FACTS.

donnielou said on February 15, 2010 at 10:46 PM

You know what? Coolidge left office in 1929. Does that date ring a bell? Through all those "achievements" you mentioned, he created a bubble similar to what we just experienced and look how well it worked for him. Coolidge ran our government into a ditch just like George W. Bush did. After he left office, Wall Street crashed and the Great Depression started. If it wasn't for Obama and his "big" government, we would be where Coolidge left us in 1929. Facts are great, but they have consequences, just like elections.

jackwong said on February 15, 2010 at 10:38 PM

Definitely another tea-bagging movement that is a fad waiting to be bagged. They should watch how Keith Olberman rips them apart day and night. As Dave Ross says, it's funny how these same people do not complain about spending whem Bush runs around with his huge-a*s war we cannot afford.

briano said on February 15, 2010 at 9:48 PM

The lesson is clear....CUT TAXES!

briano said on February 15, 2010 at 9:42 PM

More of Coolidges accomplishments. Industry: “American industry during the 1920’s not merely flourished but triumphed:” • Unemployment averaged 3.3% from 1922 to 1929. • Gross National Product increased annually by 7% from 1924 to 1929. • Per capita income grew 30 percent from 1922 to 1928. • Real earnings for employed wage earners increased 22% from 1922 to 1928. • Industrial Production increased 70% from 1922 to 1928. • The average workweek decreased 4% from 1922 to 1928. • Automobile on the road grew three fold in the decade.

briano said on February 15, 2010 at 9:40 PM

About Calvin Coolidge. His tax and debt reduction are a point of pride: • National debt of $22.3 billion in 1923 lowered to $16.9 billion by 1929. • Federal expenditures (budget) of $5.1 billion in 1921 were reduced to $3.3 billion in 1929. • Cut taxes four out of his six years as president. • Cut effective tax rate on the wealthy was 50 percent (1922) to 20 percent. Revenue from that tax bracket then rose from $77 million to $230 million. • By 1927, 98% of the population paid no income tax • Tax burden on those making under $10,000 fell from $130 million in 1923 to under $20 million in 1929.

briano said on February 15, 2010 at 9:33 PM

Dear Governor: You want to raise more "revenue" from Taxes. Then lets do something that is PROVEN to work. Something that also Helps the Economy, Jobs and Prosperity ! Are you ready for that? Here is what Calvin Coolidge did when faced with similar if not worse cicumstances. So If you really want to raise more money.... then check the link below. http://www.calvin-coolidge.org/html/coolidge_facts.html THIS WILL REALLY WORK ! IT HAS IN THE PAST!

trucker45 said on February 15, 2010 at 8:49 PM

Yea, protect our future. We need the rest of your money. There is a never ending line of people saying they need full funding of their project. It would not be so bad except after you add up a few thousand projects it adds up to real money.

m1murphy said on February 15, 2010 at 6:19 PM

Throw the bums out !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

taxexpert said on February 15, 2010 at 5:12 PM

Please do not mislead your readers buy describing the plan to close the tax gap as a combination of spending cuts and tax increases. All they are cutting is the rate of growth of spending overall. Please do your homework so you can report more accurately. Thank you.

factoid said on February 15, 2010 at 4:57 PM

The State has enough of my money, keep your hands out of my wallet. Do the job you were sent to Olympia to do. Make the hard choices that need to be made without raising taxes. Taking more money from the people will only spell disaster in the future. Economics 101, you don't raise taxes during a recession. Listen clearly, November is just around the corner and we are taking notes, now more than ever.