Random political Youtube video thread

[robkelk]

For the videos that belong here instead of in GenChat.

First up, left-wing musicians and right-wing commentator: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdkGE5bItyE
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

[Black Aeronaut]

Eh, Glen Beck's rabid ranting just ruins it for me. "THE ENTIRE MEDITERRANEAN IS ON FIRE!" I think we would have heard something about that if it was really that bad. Or was he just looking into the Crystal Ball of Right-Wing Jingoism?

[Logan Darklighter]

Hey! Why don't we just tax the rich and the corporations into oblivion to pay for everything? 

Well, because it would work... for all of a year. That's why. 

And then what happens after that?

[Black Aeronaut]

Well, I for one would like them to tax their paychecks, not so much the business transactions. I want to see the upper class paying just as many percentage points for taxes as the lower and middle classes are.

[Dartz]

I'd imagine adding a 5% Sales tax, and merely reversing the Bush Era tax-cuts for incomes above 250k would save a lot of money. I don't like Micheal Moore, but I do believe that those with the ability to pay, should pay more tax.

That.... and you've got to remember where a lot of these corporate profits are coming from. They come from people right at the bottom getting a wage, then going out and buying stuff. Earn some money, buy a car.... how many people earn a living off that car? That generates profits, which creates jobs, which creates more people buying stuff.... which creates more jobs. Which creates more taxable income. The more money you put in their hands, the better off the economy is, would anyone agree?

The more secure the people at the bottom are, the better it is for everyone. Skim a little off the top to shore up the foundation. Compared to how many billions there are up top, it doesn't take much to stabilise the people down below. When they're stable, they start consuming, generating activity which feeds back and generates more activity.... and so on. And when you've got the people enough money so that they start consuming, you can tax their consumption. (Just, don't overdo it and start relying on one specific kind of consumption, say property....because when that goes away, you suddenly find yourself with a nasty hole...).

This is why I think cutting the size of the federal government may be self defeating. Cutting cruft helps.... all governments have the useless quangos to meet J. Random Politicians demands for a thumbs up, but cutting necessary services only serves to decrease overall wellbeing. Aswell, the thing with government employees... even if you fire them, you've still got to pay them social welfare and the like along with other benefits.... only you've lost all the economic activity their government salary would generate.

Of course, I come at this from a completely different viewpoint.
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--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?

[Black Aeronaut]

Oh no, I understand exactly what you're saying, Dartz. It's like what's been going on in the State governments lately: a lot of them have been cutting the State level Earned Income Credit. What it does is that it gives a tax credit to low-income people that are productively employed. They argue that this saves tax revenue, some tens of millions of US Dollars. At the same time, however, they go and give tax breaks to big businesses and upper-class citizens, foregoing billions in tax revenue. Their excuse? It'll stifle the creation of jobs.

News Flash: there hasn't been much more than a token of new job creation lately. We've been on the Bush Tax Cuts for more than six years - that's long enough to see a change, even with the recession taken into account.

Want hard figures?  Okay, this is from the Bureau of Labor Statistic's website.
Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey

Series Id:           LNS12000000
Seasonally Adjusted
Series title:        (Seas) Employment Level
Labor force status:  Employed
Type of data:        Number in thousands
Age:                 16 years and over


Okay... This time span is from the start of the Clinton Administration to the end of the Bush Jr. Administration.  From this we can see that there's no real change in the growth in American jobs between the two administrations... though things do kinda stall out at around 2001.  This is important in that despite difference in how the two administrations ran things, there was still substantial job growth.  Given how long Bush's tax cuts have been in effect, I don't think it does anything to help the job market.
Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey

Series Id:           LNS12000000
Seasonally Adjusted
Series title:        (Seas) Employment Level
Labor force status:  Employed
Type of data:        Number in thousands
Age:                 16 years and over


This graph shows the time from Bush Jr's second term in office to midway Obama's first term.  From these figures we can see that in the USA there was a peak point at around 2007... and then in 2008 we start hemorrhaging jobs - about 7.5 million jobs altogether.  This was when the recession started hitting the hardest - we even lost jobs during the Christmas Holidays.  By Obama's first year in office, the Administration managed to stop the hemorrhaging.  Things have been improving somewhat, but not by much.  At least, nowhere near the previous rate of growth seen during the previous administration.
That said, again, I'm pretty sure the tax breaks for big business and the upper class does squat.
Thoughts?

[Dartz]

That said, again, I'm pretty sure the tax breaks for big business and the upper class does squat.
Thoughts?

Well.... it earns the current politicians big 'campaign contributions' from the wealthy...

The graphs aren't showing properly for whatever reason.

The right kind of tax breaks can have an effect, mind. We run a low corporate tax here which attracts foreign investment, which is about the only thing stopping the economy from collapsing entirely. Tax breaks for providing health insurance to workers are also a good idea. anything that encourages companies to improve the overall wellbeing of their employees. Tax breaks should be used to encourage/dissuade certain specific actions. Do something useful for the State, write that off your tax. They're not to just put more money in the hands of those who already have plenty.

Because it's clearly not leaving those hands.
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--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?

[ECSNorway]

The rich should pay their share

Ok, I LOL every time I see this.

Current analogy to US tax structure and government spending:

A rich man takes eight poor men and three middle-class guys out to dinner. The restaurant serves the rich man lobster thermidor, the middle-class men shrimp scampi, and the poor men get steak and potatoes. The bill is $200, the rich man pays $160, the middle-class guys pay $12 each, and the poor men pay fifty cents each.

Who is getting their money's worth here?
--
Sucrose Octanitrate.
Proof positive that with sufficient motivation, you can make anything explode.

[Dartz]

It all depends on how much a proportion of income that 160 dollars is, compared to the 50 cent. If it's still 10% or so of disposable income, then it does seem quite fair.... quite fair indeed.

And from what I gather from what's coming across the pond, the poor do not get steak and potatoes, they're lucky if they even get the chair they're sitting on and a burger.
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--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?

[Bob Schroeck]

While I'm not objecting to the discussion per se, the topic of this thread is videos. Perhaps the commentary could be moved to its own thread?
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[Black Aeronaut]

Okay, Bob. I'll get the graphs properly posted in the new thread, too. (Sprockin' Yuku.)

[Bob Schroeck]

Thank you.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.