2012 US General Election Discussions: Start to Finish

AtLast · 01-24-2012, 12:36 AM

I also posted this in the breaking News thread-

http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/20...te-in-2010.php

TPM2012
Mitt Romney Paid A 13.9% Effective Tax Rate In 2010

January 24, 2012, 12:30 AM 143124After being hounded by Democrats and Republicans for refusing to and then hedging about releasing his federal tax returns, Mitt Romney released his 2010 tax return Tuesday morning. They show that Romney paid an effective tax rate of 13.9% on $21.6 million in income.

Romney’s total wealth is estimated at $190 million to $250 million.
The returns also show that over 2010 and 2011 Romney donated more money to charity, $7 million, than he will pay in taxes, much of that going to the Mormon church. The campaign stressed that Romney’s low tax rate was based on the fact that much of his income comes from 15% tax rate on capital gains, rather than the 35% rate on earned income as well as charitable deductions. They also note that much of the money comes from interest from Romney’s blind trust.

Key Takeaways From Romney’s Tax Returns
—Mitt Romney paid a 13.9 percent tax rate on $21.6 million in income last year.

—Most of the income came from dividends and interest on investments, which are taxed at a much lower rate.
—Romney raked in America’s median adjusted gross income of $33,048 in “less than a day,” Bloomberg notes. His income over a one-week span puts him in the top 1 percent of annual earners.—Romney, who files jointly with his wife Ann, expects to pay a 15.4 percent rate on $20.9 million in income this year.

—His campaign said he had $7.4 million in carried interest last year; this year the figure is $5.5 million.

—Romney contributed $7 million in charitable donations in the last two years, at least $4.1 million of which was to the Mormon Church.Sahil Kapur contributed to this post.

******

Yanno- "carried interest means he defers paying any tax on millions for years- one of those "loopholes" for the 1%!

Tweet from ThinkProgress-

Romney's return that reveals his Swiss bank account is the "good' return. He won't release previous years.

Corkey · 01-24-2012, 01:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AtLast

I also posted this in the breaking News thread-

http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/20...te-in-2010.php

TPM2012
Mitt Romney Paid A 13.9% Effective Tax Rate In 2010

January 24, 2012, 12:30 AM 143124After being hounded by Democrats and Republicans for refusing to and then hedging about releasing his federal tax returns, Mitt Romney released his 2010 tax return Tuesday morning. They show that Romney paid an effective tax rate of 13.9% on $21.6 million in income.

Romney’s total wealth is estimated at $190 million to $250 million.
The returns also show that over 2010 and 2011 Romney donated more money to charity, $7 million, than he will pay in taxes, much of that going to the Mormon church. The campaign stressed that Romney’s low tax rate was based on the fact that much of his income comes from 15% tax rate on capital gains, rather than the 35% rate on earned income as well as charitable deductions. They also note that much of the money comes from interest from Romney’s blind trust.

Key Takeaways From Romney’s Tax Returns
—Mitt Romney paid a 13.9 percent tax rate on $21.6 million in income last year.

—Most of the income came from dividends and interest on investments, which are taxed at a much lower rate.
—Romney raked in America’s median adjusted gross income of $33,048 in “less than a day,” Bloomberg notes. His income over a one-week span puts him in the top 1 percent of annual earners.—Romney, who files jointly with his wife Ann, expects to pay a 15.4 percent rate on $20.9 million in income this year.

—His campaign said he had $7.4 million in carried interest last year; this year the figure is $5.5 million.

—Romney contributed $7 million in charitable donations in the last two years, at least $4.1 million of which was to the Mormon Church.Sahil Kapur contributed to this post.

******

Yanno- "carried interest means he defers paying any tax on millions for years- one of those "loopholes" for the 1%!

Tweet from ThinkProgress-

Romney's return that reveals his Swiss bank account is the "good' return. He won't release previous years.

Much of his monies are in the Caymans and we have no idea how much that is, and he pays a total of 0% on those accounts. We need to change our tax laws to close these loopholes.

theoddz · 01-24-2012, 01:54 PM

Well, we all know how ridiculous a Newt Gingrich Presidential campaign would be. Come to think of it, none of the current list of GOP hopefuls would look much better, but Newtie's would really be over the top.

Lookie what I found!!!!

It reads almost like a laundry list of sin and is at least three times more entertaining!!!

http://www.realchange.org/gingrich.htm#draft

I hope you all find it as entertaining as I did.

He hasn't a hope in hell, especially if he actually gets a GOP nomination.

Here's some of his and the people who have known him's quote's:

Quotes:

"We had oral sex. He prefers that modus operandi because then he can say, 'I never slept with her.'" - Anne Manning (who was also married at the time.)

"We would have won in 1974 if we could have kept him out of the office, screwing her [a young volunteer] on the desk." - Dot Crews, his campaign scheduler at the time

[In the book] "Men Who Hate Women and the Women Who Love Them", [I] "found frightening pieces that related to my own life." - Newt.

"I think you can write a psychological profile of me that says I found a way to immerse my insecurities in a cause large enough to justify whatever I wanted it to." - Newt, speaking to Gail Sheehy.

"She isn't young enough or pretty enough to be the President's wife. And besides, she has cancer." - Newt, on his first wife.

"He treats me really nicely, buys me all these ices. Dolce & Gabbana, Fendi and that Donna, Karan, he be sharin' All that money got me wearin'" -- Callista? No wait, that's Fergie, "My Humps"

"I don't want him to be president and I don't think he should be." - Newt's second wife Marianne.

“She [Callista] is the single most self-centered person I’ve run into in politics—it’s all about her. They do these movies together, and she does a word count: she has to have the same number of words on camera as he does or they have to reshoot. ...And Callista did not want him to run for President. That’s why he had to buy her so much damn jewelry.” - an unnamed "former strategist." Will Rogers, Newt's ex-Iowa strategist has denied it was him.

"If the country today were to move to the left, Newt would sense it before it started happening and lead the way." - Dot Crews, his campaign scheduler throughout the 1970s.

"It doesn't matter what I do. People need to hear what I have to say. There's no one else who can say what I can say. It doesn't matter what I live." - Newt.
________________________

You know, it is a national insult to have someone like Newt Gingrich even throw his hat in the ring and then come within a hair's breadth of getting a major political nomination to run for the highest office in the land. How does THAT happen??? How does he get even ONE vote from any self respecting, decent American, let alone human being????

~Theo~

deeperstill · 01-24-2012, 09:28 PM

ok, so a great turn of phrase in a speech delivered well, yeah, makes me wet*
(*disclaimer: this neither does nor does not endorse the content of anything said)

Kobi · 01-25-2012, 09:22 AM

That State of the Union address was a classic. Obama has always impressed me with his grasp of the issues I see as important and to break them down into easy to understand pieces and solutions. To me, he makes sense.

However, I am always mindful that he faces an uphill battle every step of the way from republicans, business, various interest groups, other countries etc.

Dont always like the compromises he makes or the watering down of key things to appease the $$$$, but the guys ideas I like. He reminds me a lot of the democrats of old, looking to even the playing field some while not totally upsetting the status quo.

Cin · 01-25-2012, 09:31 AM

You know the fact that Obama can give a pretty speech was, in my mind, never in question. And his State of the Union/reelection speech was no different. He knows what we want to hear. He knows what needs to be done. And he has great ideas for getting it done. Unfortunately that has yet to translate into him actually doing it.

The remark he made during his speech about students who face the threat of deportation is particularly telling. Telling in that there are so many issues which have played out exactly like this. Obama is accused of being soft on something or having an agenda surrounding something. He bends over backwards in the other direction to prove them wrong. His opponents continue to insist he is doing the opposite. And on and on it goes. It seems he never will stand up and do what he says he wants to do and what they say he is doing anyway. It makes my head hurt.

During the Obama administration there have been more deportation than ever before, close to 400,000 just this year alone. And still the GOP makes claims that Obama is soft on immigration. Right now the Halt Act, a bill to stop the Obama administration from blocking deportation for families of U.S. citizens who are being sent to dangerous countries, is in the House and while it is unlikely it will ever pass, it does act as a counter balance to the Democrats’ urging that Obama use this presidential power. This will likely, as we have seen over and over around a variety of issues during his administration, lead to Obama doing nothing at all. Nothing that is, but giving the issue lip service. Obama loves to give lip service. Apparently that costs him nothing at all and it might get him some votes back.

I think Obama would like to do at least some of the things he promised when many of us saw him as America’s great hope but he’s not going to. The cost during his time in office and after is too great. That said I am too frightened of what would happen should a Republican take office to vote for anyone else.

But according to the polls after the State of the Union, the prediction seems to be that a Republican will be elected. And you can be sure he, whoever he is, won’t be afraid to do exactly what he said he was going to do and he’ll have the support of the corporate media, Wall Street and the 1% behind him. Which means when the middle class gasps it’s last breath, it’s dead weight will come crashing down on top of the working class and the poor squeezing them into an even more limited future. All the while mainstream corporate owned media will tell us how much everything is improving now that the job creators are getting even more corporate welfare. And if you are part of the 99% and you happened to vote republican yet you are feeling the economic pinch, don’t worry because I’m sure the new republican administration in conjunction with that delightful republican congress will take some food stamps away from the hungry and some social security from the aged poor. No doubt that will tide you over while you wait for those job creators to commence creating.

MsMerrick · 01-25-2012, 10:44 AM

President Obama, has done some things, and can do more.. Yep, he ain't perfect, but . Are you seriously considering any of the alternatives ?
And we seem to neglect to point out what he has done.
Me ? I wouldn't now have Health Insurance if it wasn't for "Obamacare" !

Here's some basics, some of which I am not crazy about but many of whom I am happy about..
This is are posted post from Facebook...

MY President (reposted) 1. Got Osama Bin Laden...check 2. Unemployment rate 8.5%...check. 3. 1.6 million jobs created with no GOP help...check 4. 22 months of job and economic growth with no help...check 5. Ended war in Iraq ...check 6. Don't Ask Don't Tell repeal...check 7. Not one tax hike in 3 years....check 8. Brought out the extreme racism in the Gop...check 9. Still carry 80% of the black vote...check 10. Same wife for 15 years with no extramarital affairs...check 11. Save auto industry and 1.5 million jobs.. check 12. Assisted in ousting Khaddafi...check 13. Only active President to receive Nobel Peace prize while in office. 14. Mortgage modification to prevent home owners from losing their home. 15. STILL fighting for middle class families. 16. Reform Affordable healthcare.... check Despite what the GOP would have you believe, the President has been doing these things and more. Obama 2012 - RE-POST to support!!

01-24-2012, 12:36 AM	#1
AtLast Infamous Member How Do You Identify?: Woman Preferred Pronoun?: HER - SHE Relationship Status: Relating Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: CA & AZ I'm a Snowbird Posts: 5,408 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 11,826 Thanked 10,827 Times in 3,199 Posts Rep Power: 21474858	Romney's tax return info- 2011 is "projected" I also posted this in the breaking News thread- http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/20...te-in-2010.php TPM2012 Mitt Romney Paid A 13.9% Effective Tax Rate In 2010 January 24, 2012, 12:30 AM 143124After being hounded by Democrats and Republicans for refusing to and then hedging about releasing his federal tax returns, Mitt Romney released his 2010 tax return Tuesday morning. They show that Romney paid an effective tax rate of 13.9% on $21.6 million in income. Romney’s total wealth is estimated at $190 million to $250 million. The returns also show that over 2010 and 2011 Romney donated more money to charity, $7 million, than he will pay in taxes, much of that going to the Mormon church. The campaign stressed that Romney’s low tax rate was based on the fact that much of his income comes from 15% tax rate on capital gains, rather than the 35% rate on earned income as well as charitable deductions. They also note that much of the money comes from interest from Romney’s blind trust. Key Takeaways From Romney’s Tax Returns —Mitt Romney paid a 13.9 percent tax rate on $21.6 million in income last year. —Most of the income came from dividends and interest on investments, which are taxed at a much lower rate. —Romney raked in America’s median adjusted gross income of $33,048 in “less than a day,” Bloomberg notes. His income over a one-week span puts him in the top 1 percent of annual earners.—Romney, who files jointly with his wife Ann, expects to pay a 15.4 percent rate on $20.9 million in income this year. —His campaign said he had $7.4 million in carried interest last year; this year the figure is $5.5 million. —Romney contributed $7 million in charitable donations in the last two years, at least $4.1 million of which was to the Mormon Church.Sahil Kapur contributed to this post. **** Yanno- "carried interest means he defers paying any tax on millions for years- one of those "loopholes" for the 1%! Tweet from ThinkProgress- Romney's return that reveals his Swiss bank account is the "good' return. He won't release previous years.**

01-24-2012, 01:54 PM	#3
theoddz Senior Member How Do You Identify?: Cranky Old Poop Preferred Pronoun?: Mr. Beast Relationship Status: Married to a beautiful babe whom I don't deserve. Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Central Texas Posts: 3,547 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 11,163 Thanked 9,937 Times in 2,514 Posts Rep Power: 21474856	Well, we all know how ridiculous a Newt Gingrich Presidential campaign would be. Come to think of it, none of the current list of GOP hopefuls would look much better, but Newtie's would really be over the top. Lookie what I found!!!! It reads almost like a laundry list of sin and is at least three times more entertaining!!! http://www.realchange.org/gingrich.htm#draft I hope you all find it as entertaining as I did. He hasn't a hope in hell, especially if he actually gets a GOP nomination. Here's some of his and the people who have known him's quote's: Quotes: "We had oral sex. He prefers that modus operandi because then he can say, 'I never slept with her.'" - Anne Manning (who was also married at the time.) "We would have won in 1974 if we could have kept him out of the office, screwing her [a young volunteer] on the desk." - Dot Crews, his campaign scheduler at the time [In the book] "Men Who Hate Women and the Women Who Love Them", [I] "found frightening pieces that related to my own life." - Newt. "I think you can write a psychological profile of me that says I found a way to immerse my insecurities in a cause large enough to justify whatever I wanted it to." - Newt, speaking to Gail Sheehy. "She isn't young enough or pretty enough to be the President's wife. And besides, she has cancer." - Newt, on his first wife. "He treats me really nicely, buys me all these ices. Dolce & Gabbana, Fendi and that Donna, Karan, he be sharin' All that money got me wearin'" -- Callista? No wait, that's Fergie, "My Humps" "I don't want him to be president and I don't think he should be." - Newt's second wife Marianne. “She [Callista] is the single most self-centered person I’ve run into in politics—it’s all about her. They do these movies together, and she does a word count: she has to have the same number of words on camera as he does or they have to reshoot. ...And Callista did not want him to run for President. That’s why he had to buy her so much damn jewelry.” - an unnamed "former strategist." Will Rogers, Newt's ex-Iowa strategist has denied it was him. "If the country today were to move to the left, Newt would sense it before it started happening and lead the way." - Dot Crews, his campaign scheduler throughout the 1970s. "It doesn't matter what I do. People need to hear what I have to say. There's no one else who can say what I can say. It doesn't matter what I live." - Newt. ________________________ You know, it is a national insult to have someone like Newt Gingrich even throw his hat in the ring and then come within a hair's breadth of getting a major political nomination to run for the highest office in the land. How does THAT happen??? How does he get even ONE vote from any self respecting, decent American, let alone human being???? *~Theo~* __________________ *"All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost."* -- J. R. R. Tolkien

01-24-2012, 09:28 PM	#4
deeperstill Member How Do You Identify?: femme Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: northern california Posts: 135 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 419 Thanked 272 Times in 91 Posts Rep Power: 2862600	state of the union ok, so a great turn of phrase in a speech delivered well, yeah, makes me wet* (disclaimer: this neither does nor does not endorse the content of anything said) __________________ Shutthefuckupcakes. It's what's for dinner.*

01-25-2012, 09:31 AM	#6
Cin Senior Member How Do You Identify?: Butch Preferred Pronoun?: she Relationship Status: Truly Madly Deeply Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: In My Head Posts: 2,815 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 6,333 Thanked 10,401 Times in 2,477 Posts Rep Power: 21474853	You know the fact that Obama can give a pretty speech was, in my mind, never in question. And his State of the Union/reelection speech was no different. He knows what we want to hear. He knows what needs to be done. And he has great ideas for getting it done. Unfortunately that has yet to translate into him actually doing it. The remark he made during his speech about students who face the threat of deportation is particularly telling. Telling in that there are so many issues which have played out exactly like this. Obama is accused of being soft on something or having an agenda surrounding something. He bends over backwards in the other direction to prove them wrong. His opponents continue to insist he is doing the opposite. And on and on it goes. It seems he never will stand up and do what he says he wants to do and what they say he is doing anyway. It makes my head hurt. During the Obama administration there have been more deportation than ever before, close to 400,000 just this year alone. And still the GOP makes claims that Obama is soft on immigration. Right now the Halt Act, a bill to stop the Obama administration from blocking deportation for families of U.S. citizens who are being sent to dangerous countries, is in the House and while it is unlikely it will ever pass, it does act as a counter balance to the Democrats’ urging that Obama use this presidential power. This will likely, as we have seen over and over around a variety of issues during his administration, lead to Obama doing nothing at all. Nothing that is, but giving the issue lip service. Obama loves to give lip service. Apparently that costs him nothing at all and it might get him some votes back. I think Obama would like to do at least some of the things he promised when many of us saw him as America’s great hope but he’s not going to. The cost during his time in office and after is too great. That said I am too frightened of what would happen should a Republican take office to vote for anyone else. But according to the polls after the State of the Union, the prediction seems to be that a Republican will be elected. And you can be sure he, whoever he is, won’t be afraid to do exactly what he said he was going to do and he’ll have the support of the corporate media, Wall Street and the 1% behind him. Which means when the middle class gasps it’s last breath, it’s dead weight will come crashing down on top of the working class and the poor squeezing them into an even more limited future. All the while mainstream corporate owned media will tell us how much everything is improving now that the job creators are getting even more corporate welfare. And if you are part of the 99% and you happened to vote republican yet you are feeling the economic pinch, don’t worry because I’m sure the new republican administration in conjunction with that delightful republican congress will take some food stamps away from the hungry and some social security from the aged poor. No doubt that will tide you over while you wait for those job creators to commence creating. __________________ The reason facts don’t change most people’s opinions is because most people don’t use facts to form their opinions. They use their opinions to form their “facts.” Neil Strauss

01-25-2012, 09:22 AM	#5
Kobi Infamous Member How Do You Identify?: Biological female. Lesbian. Relationship Status: Happy Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Hanging out in the Atlantic. Posts: 9,234 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 9,840 Thanked 34,612 Times in 7,637 Posts Rep Power: 21474860	That State of the Union address was a classic. Obama has always impressed me with his grasp of the issues I see as important and to break them down into easy to understand pieces and solutions. To me, he makes sense. However, I am always mindful that he faces an uphill battle every step of the way from republicans, business, various interest groups, other countries etc. Dont always like the compromises he makes or the watering down of key things to appease the $$$$, but the guys ideas I like. He reminds me a lot of the democrats of old, looking to even the playing field some while not totally upsetting the status quo.

01-25-2012, 10:44 AM	#7
MsMerrick Member How Do You Identify?: Queer Feminist Femme.... Preferred Pronoun?: She Relationship Status: Single and Singular.... Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: New York City.... Posts: 277 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 855 Thanked 646 Times in 166 Posts Rep Power: 4638167	President Obama, has done some things, and can do more.. Yep, he ain't perfect, but . Are you seriously considering any of the alternatives ? And we seem to neglect to point out what he has done. Me ? I wouldn't now have Health Insurance if it wasn't for "Obamacare" ! Here's some basics, some of which I am not crazy about but many of whom I am happy about.. This is are posted post from Facebook... MY President (reposted) 1. Got Osama Bin Laden...check 2. Unemployment rate 8.5%...check. 3. 1.6 million jobs created with no GOP help...check 4. 22 months of job and economic growth with no help...check 5. Ended war in Iraq ...check 6. Don't Ask Don't Tell repeal...check 7. Not one tax hike in 3 years....check 8. Brought out the extreme racism in the Gop...check 9. Still carry 80% of the black vote...check 10. Same wife for 15 years with no extramarital affairs...check 11. Save auto industry and 1.5 million jobs.. check 12. Assisted in ousting Khaddafi...check 13. Only active President to receive Nobel Peace prize while in office. 14. Mortgage modification to prevent home owners from losing their home. 15. STILL fighting for middle class families. 16. Reform Affordable healthcare.... check Despite what the GOP would have you believe, the President has been doing these things and more. Obama 2012 - RE-POST to support!!