Money in politics

J64TWB · Joined: 24 Dec 2013 Posts: 1685

So.. what part about "money is money and free speech is Isobars, Bard, mac and Pueno" did those conservative justices not get?

So Money is speech? Corporations are individuals?

We are screwed. United we stand, divided we fall. I love you guys.

How about that paddle tennis? Pretty nifty huh?

uwindsurf · Joined: 18 Aug 2012 Posts: 968 Location: Classified

Corporations have all the rights of an individual now, except the one that tends to deter bad behavior - going to prison.

I wonder if I can renounce my personhood and become a corporation? Hi, my name is youwindsurf, inc. I can run roughshod over anyone without fear of being incarcerated. Life is great!

nw30 · Posted: Tue Oct 14, 2014 9:44 pm Post subject:

You'll need employees to be able to do that, who are you going to hire, illegals?

MalibuGuru · Joined: 11 Nov 1993 Posts: 9299

Chandler, I have said many times there should be a 2 tier flat tax that would remove all deductions for everyone. 10% for everyone over $20k to 200k, then 20% for those who make over 200k.

This would solve all sorts of problems. No more IRS, no issue about gay marriage, total simplification, and elimination of a lot of the lobbying on capitol hill. Most importantly, then there would be NO DEDUCTIBILITY OF CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS.

mac · Posted: Tue Oct 14, 2014 10:17 pm Post subject:

Bard--you need to get out and read a bit. In no system are political contributions tax deductible. The issue, with the IRS and others, is can the donors be kept secret. Read the report I cited--I actually did.

Aren't you a little curious as to the 100 people that have so much money that they drive the current election cycle? Do you think that is ethical? Especially if they can keep their identities secret?

It was Republicans that blocked any reform of these provisions. Read a bit, and turn off Glenn Beck and Alex Jones.

isobars · Joined: 12 Dec 1999 Posts: 20935

swchandler · Joined: 08 Nov 1993 Posts: 10588

I brought up the tax issue, because most folks use any and all the viable tax write-offs available to them. Similarly, in the 2008 election cycle, Candidate Obama took advantage of all the legal options available to him to maximize campaign contributions. No doubt, he was probably convinced by his campaign management to revise his original strategy to stick with only public funding. Needless to say, if your tax consultant advised you of ways to legally reduce your tax liability, you would probably follow his advice.

MalibuGuru · Joined: 11 Nov 1993 Posts: 9299

Mac, you are somewhat right but very wrong.

Contributions to various "causes" are deductible. We know that those causes can send messages that can really effect elections. There are plenty of "causes" on both sides of the aisle.

And furthermore, Bill Gates contribution to the "Gates" fund, is nothing more than a sham. He controls the stock, the board, and everything in between, while avoiding huge capital gains.

pueno · Joined: 03 Mar 2007 Posts: 2807

mac · Posted: Wed Oct 15, 2014 10:36 am Post subject:

Steven bard--when caught having written something clearly wrong, you do a good job of emulating mrgybe. You essentially argue that you didn't make a mistake, just that everyone misunderstood you. Very funny--but dead wrong. At first you said: