There are some that blame the Bush administration for the so-called housing crisis.  However, it is really our DemocraticmajorityCongress who has the burden to get a healthy plan in action.  They want those of us who work hard to do the right thing bail out others who make bad choices.  Barack Obama likes to use the term, wealth redistribution.  Anyway, take a look at this video.  It really helps to put things in the proper prospective.

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Boomer
Right Wing Squadron

In my previous post I stated that John McCain supported the Fair Tax Plan.  I would like to apologize because that statement was an error.  Senator John McCain, in fact, does not support the Fair Tax Act and has some reservations about it.  That will not stop my support for Senator McCain.  However, I still find the Fair Tax Plan very interesting.  I would like to see more discussion on it so that I can make a fully informed decision.  At this point I am about 70% in favor of it.  On the surface it sounds pretty good.  In Washington, almost all supporters are Republican.  It is a major overhaul of our system so overwhelming acceptance will be difficult.

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Boomer
Right Wing Squadron

The Fair Tax Plan is an interesting idea for overhauling our federal income tax system. Every once in a while I like to bring it up to inform those who are not familiar with it. Presidential candidates John McCain and Mike Huckabee have supported the plan. Below is an excerpt from the FairTax.org site.  Edit Correction: John McCain does not support the Fair Tax Plan.

The FairTax plan is a comprehensive proposal that replaces all federal income and payroll based taxes with an integrated approach including a progressive national retail sales tax, a prebate to ensure no American pays federal taxes on spending up to the poverty level, dollar-for-dollar federal revenue neutrality, and, through companion legislation, the repeal of the 16th Amendment.

The FairTax Act (HR 25, S 1025) is nonpartisan legislation. It abolishes all federal personal and corporate income taxes, gift, estate, capital gains, alternative minimum, Social Security, Medicare, and self-employment taxes and replaces them with one simple, visible, federal retail sales tax  administered primarily by existing state sales tax authorities.

The FairTax taxes us only on what we choose to spend on new goods or services, not on what we earn. The FairTax is a fair, efficient, transparent, and intelligent solution to the frustration and inequity of our current tax system.

The FairTax:

• Enables workers to keep their entire paychecks
• Enables retirees to keep their entire pensions
• Refunds in advance the tax on purchases of basic necessities
• Allows American products to compete fairly
• Brings transparency and accountability to tax policy
• Ensures Social Security and Medicare funding
• Closes all loopholes and brings fairness to taxation
• Abolishes the IRS

We offer a library of information throughout this Web site about the features and benefits of the FairTax plan. Please explore!

The FairTax Five

The gloves are off as critics try to pick apart the FairTax. Trouble is, it's just a replay of the same five FairTax myths:

• "The 23% rate is misleading. It's actually 30%"
  Well, actually...
• "It's not enforceable and evasion will be rampant"
  Well, actually...
• "It will not be revenue neutral at 23%"
  Well, actually...
• "The FairTax is not politically viable"
  Well, actually...
• "The FairTax is regressive and shifts the tax burden onto lower and middle income people"
  Well, actually...

 
http://www.fairtax.org

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Boomer
Right Wing Squadron

Only homeowners who have a mortgage-debt-to-income ratio of 35 percent or higher and who entered into a mortgage before January would qualify for the program.

House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank, a Massachusetts Democrat, says the millions of individuals who might face foreclosure because of the expanding credit crisis deserve help, even if they made a mistake by borrowing beyond their means.

"There are people who made loans that should not have been made; there are some people that were wrong to take the loans out, some wrong to make the loans. If nothing happens and all those loans go under foreclosure, the economy suffers," he said.

Yes, there are a lot of people who have gotten themselves in a bind with their homeloans.  I sympathize with them, but is it the responsibility of people who made the right decisions about living within their means to pay for those who didn't?  Maybe I am being to harsh and I know I would want some sort of relief if I was in a bind.  However, I just don't think it is right to penalize the taxpayers for bad decisions by both the borrowers and the lenders.

Here are what Republicans are saying...

"You're telling the guy who did it right that he has to help pay for the guy who did it wrong," said Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas. "When people are struggling to pay for their mortgages, they shouldn't be forced to pay for their neighbors' mortgage.

"I think about 95 percent of America is either renting a home, they own their home outright, or they're current on their mortgage," he said. "So 95 percent of America who's doing it right is asked to help bail out 5 percent of America who probably wasn't doing it right."

I believe the Bush Administration has it right by calling it a "bailout".

I think the Democrats are just contributing to the victim mentality of this country.  Personal responsibility is a value that the liberals just don't embrace.

Am I too hard core?

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Boomer
Right Wing Squadron

You know, I have friends that have jumped on the "Bush-haters" bandwagon.  Of course, they have no substantive reason for it other than trying to be P.C. among the liberals.  Anyway, they tell me that the economy has been lousy since Bush took office.  I always ask them if they are better off today than they were 8 years ago.  Most of them are doing pretty well so they try to derail the subject by ranting about the war instead. 

Well, Hillary and Bill remind me of my friends.  So I gotta ask them... How's it going for you economically?  Hmm... I supposed earning $109 million since Bush has been in office is pretty darn good!

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Boomer
Right Wing Squadron