So far, the debt ceiling has been raised 3 times during Obama’s presidency (about 1 per year).
It was raised 7 times by George W. Bush (almost 1 per year).
It was raised 4 times by Bill Clinton (once every 2 years).
It was raised 17 times by Ronald Reagan (more than 2 per year).
Month: July 2011
You get to choose, a villa in France or universal health care
As a democratic society and economy, we get to choose how the resources in our economy are allocated. One option is to reduce taxes on the wealthy so that wealthy people can purchase villas in France, condominiums in Dubai, and invest in the economies of China, India, and other profitable economies. Another option is to increase taxes on the wealthy so that the middle class and poor in the U.S. are not burdened by the high costs of health care, high price of fuel, high price of food, and other basic necessities of life. How do you vote?
For good people to do evil, you just need to give them religion
Physicist Stephen Weinberg said, “With or without religion, good people can behave well, and bad people can do evil; but for good people to do evil – that takes religion.”
When asked why you don’t follow Christianity, say…
When asked why you don’t follow Christianity, say, “How can I follow a religion that frowns upon people asking deep questions about its truths?”
Which presidents increase the debt the most?
Pascal’s wager, in reverse
How can you spend your whole life worshiping God when this life may be the only chance you get to live. If there is no heaven, and there is no hell, and there is no afterlife of any kind, then shouldn’t you be making the most of the life you have now? The life you have now is the only one that you can know with certainty you will have. Don’t waste it giving your time and resources to gods, churches, and influential TV preachers. Spend that time and your money as if this is the only life you have to live and is your only chance to affect the universe; because that very well may be the case.
Let’s reduce our tax rates to 0% if that is the way to increase revenue
If reducing the tax rate always leads to increased government revenue, then why not reduce the tax rate to zero and maximize government revenues now?
It’s great being an atheist.
It’s great being an atheist. I don’t have to worry about ghosts in dark houses. I don’t need to blame a deity when things don’t go my way. And I don’t need to turn over the credit for my accomplishments and hard work to some supreme being.
Raise our taxes, I don’t want litter everywhere!
In the 1970s cities and towns across the country began a campaign to stop litter. The campaign was simple. First, pass laws making littering a crime and punishable by a fine. Second, put up signs along the roads warning drivers and potential litterers about the crime. And third, enforcing those laws. This took money to implement, and a portion of our taxes is still dedicated to litter prevention. Without those tax dollars, we will be unable to stop litter, and people will begin littering again.
Who would litter if the law was not enforced? Well, some people believe that if you do whatever is in your best interest, then what you are doing is right by definition. Since disposing of trash, particularly trash that may be sticky or smelly is easier to do by throwing it out your car window that placing a trash can in your car and emptying it when you get home, we can assume that the believes of “best interest” would litter. There are also a lot of people that believe any thing they have done in the past was “right” and “OK” if they got away with it. So anyone that felt they could get away with littering and not feel any shame about their action would probably litter. There are also people that don’t care about the environment, or that believe that God or a divine power would not allow our beautiful Earth to become trashed no matter what their actions, and these people would then also be more likely to litter. Finally, there are people that feel taking care of trash is a task that is beneath them because they are too important or valuable to Earth to be bothered with such menial tasks. Plus, picking up their trash would provide jobs and employment to other poor people.
Raise our taxes, I want the government to protect my money!
Prior to the creation of the FDIC in 1933, everyone that put money in a bank put that money at risk if the bank suffered a financial collapse. A person that put money in a bank, had no guarantee that they would be able to get the money back if the bank became bankrupt. The FDIC is a federal agency supported by our taxes that protects our money in the event a bank mis-manages its finances and collapses. Without the FDIC money in banks would not be safe, and we would be forced to hide our cash in our homes and make purchases using cash instead of checks or credit cards. The existence of this agency and its policies enables modern banking and eliminating the agency would severely cripple our economy, especially the middle class. Taxes are a necessary good in advanced societies. Societies without taxes will cease to be advanced.
