1 post tagged “taxes”
We've become a nation of self-absorbed pansies, liars, pussies, cheats and thieves 'led' by a bunch of say-anything to-get-elected politicians. Regardless of how November goes, I weep for our future. (old line borrowed from Ferris Bueller so as not to take what follows below toooo seriously....)
The economy that made this nation great has almost been eradicated from the face of this Earth. If you don't believe that, you haven't been to Pittsburgh or Detroit recently. Our future as an economic power is firmly hinged upon the US dollar. And, the dollars' saving graces appear to be, currently and logistically, housed in the Bay Area and New York. Soon, perhaps Manhattan goes the way of the steel and auto industries...If one of these major banks "fail", batten down the hatches and reopen those long dormant bunkers, folks. We've got all the ingredients of a catastrophic, self-fulfilling "prophecy cake" laid out on the counter. It just needs to be mixed and put in the oven to make it happen. We're that close.
/// Sidenote for those of you that are investors: If Charlie Gasparino doesn't shut his G-D mouth (every time he opens it, he sells 300 more of his books and the markets find something else to worry about...) I am going to fly up to Manhattan and...well...I've heard people can get prosecuted for internet threats and he's just the type to track me down so that he can sell some more books and make another headline, so I'll let discretion be the better part of valor today... ///
While I'm not favoring either of the two candidates, check this scenario: Americans are so fed up with all the current administrations' b.s.--and I am not downplaying that at all--Obama gets elected in November because we all blindly and desperately yearn for change; and gasoline continues its meteoric rise (both are not only possible, but perhaps likely...), so real estate continues to languish. Then Obama starts slapping the already beleaguered American public with taxes they already can't afford, due to overspending and irresponsible fiscal policy (don't start with the "it will only effect the top 1% of incomes" argument. It doesn't ring true.) or removing current incentives, and we will be in a tailspin this generation, and perhaps the one before it, has never seen. I'm not kidding. The consumer accounts for 70% of our GDP. You think Ma and Pa Jones are still gonna be able to tap their home equity lines (WHAT home equity line???) to pay for the gas in their 9 year old Ford Explorer...nevermind to pay their taxes??? Start saving your pennies, friends. This doomsday scenario may ultimately not play out, but the likelihood is growing every single day. This is one nasty storm headed our way if something doesn't change soon...
Further, if McCain somehow gets in, I'm far from convinced that we would be saved. I am absolutely not touting him as our saviour. He's not. But, for me, he's the lesser of two evils. Obama is not the answer to what this country needs. Sorry, to my predominantly liberal Voxhood, but he's just not. All we know is that we want change, so anything opposite the Bush 'legacy' will solve this country's problems. And, thus, it appears I will once again vote from my silent soapbox, stationed firmly in Purgatory (and home to the hanging chad) for the candidate that I feel LEAST uneasy about...*sigh* Obama brings hope to the American public. I share that hope. I want this to be a better country. I've just never been one to employ hope as an effective strategy for anything...
