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Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 30th 2023 at 11:03:59 AM

Medinoc from France (Before Recorded History)
#49901: Feb 18th 2013 at 7:38:41 AM

[up][up]Yeah, switching from income tax to sales tax is like pulling a reverse Robin Hood.

"And as long as a sack of shit is not a good thing to be, chivalry will never die."
Jhimmibhob Since: Dec, 2010
#49902: Feb 18th 2013 at 8:28:47 AM

I can see the intended point of the NR post that DG refers to. The reflexive tendency to call acts of violence "senseless" is a modern habit that tends to discourage one from drawing links between such violence and previous, clearly stated intentions that—if taken seriously—just might have lessened or averted some of the violence. And going by the date it was written, I'd say the NR contributor was obviously accusing Obama of a cause/effect myopia that (at byline) was repeating itself in a willful failure to connect the dots between the rhetoric of the new Egyptian & Libyan ruling parties, and the likelihood of future violence in the region. Now, reasonable people can disagree on whether that's so, but it certainly doesn't amount to a quibble over Nazism, or a defense of it.

Achaemenid HGW XX/7 from Ruschestraße 103, Haus 1 Since: Dec, 2011 Relationship Status: Giving love a bad name
HGW XX/7
#49903: Feb 18th 2013 at 8:43:07 AM

[up]

I'd agree, however, the article is excessively partisan in the way it makes its point.

Schild und Schwert der Partei
Jhimmibhob Since: Dec, 2010
#49904: Feb 18th 2013 at 9:15:53 AM

[up]Well, sure. NR has never made any bones about being a partisan journal, any more than has The Nation.

RadicalTaoist scratching at .8, just hopin' from the #GUniverse Since: Jan, 2001
scratching at .8, just hopin'
#49905: Feb 18th 2013 at 9:17:23 AM

There's a way to make your point, and then there's a way to make your point that draws associations in your reader's mind so as to bias them against a position or person (usually but not always by bringing in irrelevant information). The article is a clear case of the latter, except transparently, laughably so.

Share it so that people can get into this conversation, 'cause we're not the only ones who think like this.
DrTentacles Cephalopod Lothario from Land of the Deep Ones Since: Jul, 2012 Relationship Status: Having tea with Cthulhu
Cephalopod Lothario
#49906: Feb 18th 2013 at 9:20:16 AM

Furthermore, this was more "Tasteless nitpicking about semantics that makes you look like Nazi apologists an a transparent attempt to discredit Obama" than "valuable insight on the tendency to ignore the motives behind violence."

Achaemenid HGW XX/7 from Ruschestraße 103, Haus 1 Since: Dec, 2011 Relationship Status: Giving love a bad name
HGW XX/7
#49907: Feb 18th 2013 at 9:30:54 AM

[up][up]

What he said. By focusing on Obama, and by tying Benghazi into it, it just came off as a mean-spirited attempt to cash in on Holocaust Memorial Day to take a sideswipe at the President.

edited 18th Feb '13 9:32:10 AM by Achaemenid

Schild und Schwert der Partei
RadicalTaoist scratching at .8, just hopin' from the #GUniverse Since: Jan, 2001
scratching at .8, just hopin'
#49908: Feb 18th 2013 at 9:31:33 AM

Didn't the NR back the Iraq invasion? I suspect "valuable insights on the tendency to ignore the motives behind violence" might not be a product they want to sell.

Share it so that people can get into this conversation, 'cause we're not the only ones who think like this.
Achaemenid HGW XX/7 from Ruschestraße 103, Haus 1 Since: Dec, 2011 Relationship Status: Giving love a bad name
HGW XX/7
#49909: Feb 18th 2013 at 9:32:42 AM

[up]

We all make mistakes. I backed the Iraq invasion, though I have since reconsidered.

edited 18th Feb '13 9:32:58 AM by Achaemenid

Schild und Schwert der Partei
Kostya (Unlucky Thirteen)
#49910: Feb 18th 2013 at 9:39:56 AM

I backed it too but I was around eight and a Republican at the time. Although I still approved of it until about three years ago.

RadicalTaoist scratching at .8, just hopin' from the #GUniverse Since: Jan, 2001
SeptimusHeap from Switzerland (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Mu
#49913: Feb 18th 2013 at 9:50:20 AM

It's a sketch comedy, apparently.

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
Kostya (Unlucky Thirteen)
#49914: Feb 18th 2013 at 9:52:17 AM

How do you know? It looks legit to me.

Jhimmibhob Since: Dec, 2010
#49915: Feb 18th 2013 at 9:52:20 AM

I backed it, though not for the Administration's and alliance's reasons, and would still back it if the aftermath could retroactively be handled more intelligently. And RT: I maintain that the article is pretty much par for any opinionated journal dedicated to either end of the political spectrum. Not every WWII allusion is a covert Godwin; if Mother Jones makes some similar point, mutatis mutandis, based on some future Republican president's statement, I sincerely hope I can refrain from being silly about it. Should I fail, you have my permission to jump on me with both feet.

QuestionMarc Since: Oct, 2011 Relationship Status: Having tea with Cthulhu
#49916: Feb 18th 2013 at 9:57:35 AM

[up][up] Not sure if serious.

For one thing, the newspaper is clearly fake, it has nothing but a picture and a title, beside no newspaper I know is called "Daily Truth".

The black guy is photoshopped on top of the "White House" thing, even his beard looks weird.

Newscast like that get photoshopped all the time, it's not hard, so I hardly trust that considering the top half.

RadicalTaoist scratching at .8, just hopin' from the #GUniverse Since: Jan, 2001
scratching at .8, just hopin'
#49917: Feb 18th 2013 at 10:01:09 AM

Dude holding the newspaper looks like Dave Chappelle.

[up][up] It's less covert Godwin and more blatant grasping for straws with hints of dog-whistle baiting. They're not blowing the whistle very hard, admittedly, but it comes across as passive-aggressive, especially with the jumping over Benghazi (again)

Share it so that people can get into this conversation, 'cause we're not the only ones who think like this.
shimaspawn from Here and Now Since: May, 2010 Relationship Status: In your bunk
#49918: Feb 18th 2013 at 10:13:03 AM

Something on the sales tax vs. income tax:

Sales tax hurts small businesses more. It eats into profit margins and makes consumers spend less. It also leads to a lot more double taxation, especially in small businesses.

Reality is that, which when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away. -Philip K. Dick
Kostya (Unlucky Thirteen)
#49919: Feb 18th 2013 at 10:17:18 AM

[up][up][up]I know the newspaper is fake, I'm asking if Fox really ran that story.

[up][up]It is. Someone said he predicted Fox would run that story.

I'm curious if they actually did.

edit: I can't find anything on this so it's probably fake.

edited 18th Feb '13 10:21:28 AM by Kostya

TheStarshipMaxima NCC - 1701 Since: Jun, 2009
NCC - 1701
#49920: Feb 18th 2013 at 10:20:36 AM

Sales tax hurts small businesses more. It eats into profit margins and makes consumers spend less. It also leads to a lot more double taxation, especially in small businesses.

Explain a bit more please.

edited 18th Feb '13 10:20:50 AM by TheStarshipMaxima

It was an honor
shimaspawn from Here and Now Since: May, 2010 Relationship Status: In your bunk
#49921: Feb 18th 2013 at 10:27:54 AM

Well, first a business needs to pay for a product. Smaller businesses are more likely to have to pay sales tax on this product as they can't dodge it using loopholes the same way a big one can. This means they have to either make their product more expensive or get less profit on each unit.

Consumers only have so much money to spend. A high sales tax eats into that making them spend less. That high sales tax makes final bills seem far more expensive which can cause sticker shock and make them want things far less.

This also hurts the small business more because it's profit margins are smaller than a large business so anything that hurts consumer spending hurts them far more than Walmart.

Having less money to start with does not have the same psychological effect. Good deals still seem like good deals and cheap is cheap. Besides, sales taxes are regressive and hurt the poor far more than the rich taking a far larger chunk of their income away.

It helps small business more to repeal sales tax and raise income tax. This tends to stimulate consumer spending and has worked very well on small businesses in the states that have it.

Reality is that, which when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away. -Philip K. Dick
Silasw A procrastination in of itself from A handcart to hell (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: And they all lived happily ever after <3
A procrastination in of itself
#49922: Feb 18th 2013 at 10:28:42 AM

The double taxation is simply because you are begin taxed once when you earn the money, then once again when you trade the money for goods. As for it eating into profit margins, it's probably because a lot of people will budget their shopping to a certain amount. So say a shopper spends $100 on groceries plus $25 of sales tax (their shopping budget being $125) If the sales tax wasn't there they would instead spend $125 on groceries, earning the shop an extra $25.

“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran
Midgetsnowman Since: Jan, 2010
#49923: Feb 18th 2013 at 10:32:38 AM

@Maxima: in summation of what they said. small businesses have to usually pay sales tax on shit they buy too. which means higher prices for you. which means you're less likely to buy fr0om the small business.

In short, this is pretty much blatantly attempting to disguise killing small businesses as "pro-business legislation"

TheStarshipMaxima NCC - 1701 Since: Jun, 2009
NCC - 1701
#49924: Feb 18th 2013 at 10:33:18 AM

Am I the only one who didn't learn a goddamn thing in school?? [lol]


So the question is, why not do it? Sounds like an awesome plan.

It was an honor
Silasw A procrastination in of itself from A handcart to hell (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: And they all lived happily ever after <3
A procrastination in of itself
#49925: Feb 18th 2013 at 10:35:52 AM

[up] Hey we don't have sales tax in my country, not paying attention in school is no excuse. I'm pretty sure we also let businesses of VAT (the closest equivalent we have to sales tax).

“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran

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