Presidential Elections 2012

[PrettyNier]

We probably should keep larger scale discussions on religion or homosexuality out of the presidential election topic.

Excusing the fact that it is completely relevant, of course.

Now, if you think about it, the rich DO actually pay more in taxes at normal. The percentage may be the same between rich and middle class, but a larger amount is taken out of their vaults simply because they DO make more. The more pressure you put on the rich, though, makes them cut back in areas in their industries - this includes employment as they need to keep making money in order to survive in the corporate world.

We'll disregard the fact that historically business as usual can be run perfectly fine with higher tax rates - even up to 91% at a certain point! - and that the only "hit" is whether or not they make a billion or a couple million. We'll also ignore the thing about tax rates that is actually important - effect.

Someone who makes 100 dollars who gets 30% of that taken away in taxes is going to feel the loss of those 30 dollars far more than someone who makes 100,000 and pays 30,000. A progressive tax rate that rises and falls based on income (but shouldn't be designed so that someone will make less by making more). Saying that they technically pay more in a literal sense is meaningless when it is the relative sense that matters. A progressive tax that rises and falls based on income and need is the only ethical standard by which a tax system ought to be operated.

Also, the matter of the fact that the debt for America has sky rocketed to over 16 trillion dollars under this administration is alarming and why no one is thinking about that baffles me.

Because debt between nations is different than debt from individuals.
Furthermore - the deficit has gone down with Obama in charge. The overall debt is still going up because, hey, thats an "end-game" number. The yearly amount by which the government over-spends has gone down under Obama, and when the Bush Tax Cuts expire, that number is going to go down a lot more (this is because, believe it or not, those were a pretty decent contributing factor!)

But, really, the persecution I see more openly used is against Christians and Jews

People who are part of a group tend to notice, more strongly than others, when their own particular group is being "persecuted". To a degree, the opposite of this is true as well - they tend to notice less when the other particular group is being "persecuted". It's a kind of anecdotal/interest-based blindness. The fact of the matter is, however; Christianity is a majority. It is the majority, especially in the United States; what this means is that the average person is generally assumed to be at least vaguely Christian.

What kind of things do you think happen to people who aren't, to people who try to profess faiths or cultural heritage or ideas contrary to that in the general public sphere?

In continuing with that idea:

Also, if they were interested in conservative ideas, why are the Republicans always being told to compromise their ideas while no one concentrates on the Democrats?

Remember that Public Option that was part of the original Affordable Care Act? The one that was abandoned because the President thought that it was important to reach across the aisle?
The democrats in this country have been doing that quite a lot - the issue is that democrats are trying to reach a centrist middle, or a slightly right middle point but a sect of republicans are concerned only with accomplishing their own far-right goals. Having a Republican leader in the house of representatives state that making Obama a "one-term president" as the primary goal of the Republican congress is not indicative of a leadership trying to compromise; it is indicative of a leadership trying to control and strangle and get their own way.

Also, as far as stoning homosexuals goes, I'd have to pass. I believe that they're people too, created by God - however I simply would like to see them change their ways.

Yeah, okay, we should ask redheads to stop being red, then, right? Or perhaps we should ask people to just straight up change their taste buds?

also going to throw it out there, the US doesn't have a flat tax. The rich have to pay higher percentages on their taxes for every dollar above certain brackets, going up to a potential 35% tax on every dollar above $375,000 (this is the final bracket; there's staggered taxing on brackets below them, but I can't be assed to double check right now...)

You know, food for thought in money discussion.

This also ignores the many advantages written into the tax code for the very rich to exploit - things that anyone other than them have no choice of benefiting from. Capital Gains, anyone?

Another factor is the so-called "Obamamania".

Which is severely exaggerated - the "left" in this country (if you can even call it that: most of them are centrists, even, yes, the president) - isn't one-hundred-percent thrilled with the man, you know.