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Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders: 'I am running for president'


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The self-described "democratic socialist" enters the race as a robust liberal alternative to Hillary Rodham Clinton, and he pledged to do more than simply raise progressive issues or nudge the former secretary of state to the left in a campaign in which she is heavily favored.

 

http://news.yahoo.com/vermont-sen-bernie-sanders-am-running-president-000144179--election.html

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I don't see how anyone other than Hillary is going to win the election.

 

First woman president. Enough said. So many people want to see that and be a part of it that they don't care about the qualifications. Plus, 'first woman president' has to bring about 'change', right?

 

Gee, that sounds familiar......

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I love the fact that Bernie Sanders wants to upset the status quo. And it's about time that that status quo, on both the Democratic and the Republican sides, get their cages seriously rattled.

 

Right now, while I don't always agree with Bernie Sanders, especially some of his environmental stands, I don't disagree with much of what he says, especially challenging the GOP.

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It'll take some of the attention off the Republican field for sure. Hillary has her own problems, but Sanders will only make her "seem reasonable". It reminds me of 2004 when you have a Sanders-like candidate (Howard Dean) against a more centrist-appearing candidate (Kerry).

 

I'd hope the American voters can ignore the personality and listen to what the candidates are (or as in the case of Obama....aren't) saying.

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It'll take some of the attention off the Republican field for sure. Hillary has her own problems, but Sanders will only make her "seem reasonable". It reminds me of 2004 when you have a Sanders-like candidate (Howard Dean) against a more centrist-appearing candidate (Kerry).

 

I'd hope the American voters can ignore the personality and listen to what the candidates are (or as in the case of Obama....aren't) saying.

I'm hoping that the American voter can ignore personality and listen to what each candidate is saying, too, but it's not going to happen. I'm sorry to say that the majority of voters are pretty low brow in their approach to choosing a candidate.

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While I don't agree with everything he says, I'm really leaning towards Rand Paul. I'm tired of the extremist democrats and republicans who seem hell bent on fighting each other while the country falls apart. We have to stop overspending and neither party seems willing to do that.

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While I don't agree with everything he says, I'm really leaning towards Rand Paul. I'm tired of the extremist democrats and republicans who seem hell bent on fighting each other while the country falls apart. We have to stop overspending and neither party seems willing to do that.

While I agree we have to stop overspending, I don't buy the what most of the GOP is selling either. Too many companies are offshoring their operations, or just booking their profits overseas, to avoid paying their share of taxes here in the USA, there's too much corporate and individual billionaire money going into the political process on both sides, that the status quo on both sides wants to keep. It's time to shake things up a bit. And while I agree that there's overspending, I don't agree with idea that there are safety nets that shouldn't be in place for average member of the shrinking American middle class.

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While I agree we have to stop overspending, I don't buy the what most of the GOP is selling either. Too many companies are offshoring their operations, or just booking their profits overseas, to avoid paying their share of taxes here in the USA, there's too much corporate and individual billionaire money going into the political process on both sides, that the status quo on both sides wants to keep. It's time to shake things up a bit. And while I agree that there's overspending, I don't agree with idea that there are safety nets that shouldn't be in place for average member of the shrinking American middle class.

 

How do you encourage companies to keep their operations and facilities here? Reduce taxes. You can't really tax a business anyway. Any business tax simply becomes a business cost that eventually gets passed back to consumers. It's no different than rent or healthcare costs. You can't force companies to pay oppressive taxes - they have too many options to get around them. Give companies tax credits based on the number of U.S. employees to encourage hiring.

 

The spending problem is simple - you can't keep spending more than you bring in. It's not about cutting this or that but simply matching spending to revenue, then deciding how to divvy it up. I'm all for a strong military but cuts are still possible. I'm all for safety nets. Cuts have to be made across the board but neither dems or repubs are willing to do it.

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How do you encourage companies to keep their operations and facilities here? Reduce taxes. You can't really tax a business anyway. Any business tax simply becomes a business cost that eventually gets passed back to consumers. It's no different than rent or healthcare costs. You can't force companies to pay oppressive taxes - they have too many options to get around them. Give companies tax credits based on the number of U.S. employees to encourage hiring.

 

The spending problem is simple - you can't keep spending more than you bring in. It's not about cutting this or that but simply matching spending to revenue, then deciding how to divvy it up. I'm all for a strong military but cuts are still possible. I'm all for safety nets. Cuts have to be made across the board but neither dems or repubs are willing to do it.

 

This makes so much sense! Why is it so difficult for so many to understand?

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How do you encourage companies to keep their operations and facilities here? Reduce taxes. You can't really tax a business anyway. Any business tax simply becomes a business cost that eventually gets passed back to consumers. It's no different than rent or healthcare costs. You can't force companies to pay oppressive taxes - they have too many options to get around them. Give companies tax credits based on the number of U.S. employees to encourage hiring.

 

The spending problem is simple - you can't keep spending more than you bring in. It's not about cutting this or that but simply matching spending to revenue, then deciding how to divvy it up. I'm all for a strong military but cuts are still possible. I'm all for safety nets. Cuts have to be made across the board but neither dems or repubs are willing to do it.

Just for clarity's sake, I'll follow up your comments with a little more information.

 

It's true that businesses don't pay taxes, they merely pass them (to shareholders, employees, or customers).

 

That's why......it doesn't matter what the corporate tax rate is........if all corporations are paying the same rate........except most corporations are international.......and lower taxes make them more attractive to investors........and they'll maneuver to pay the fewest taxes possible..... to be more competitive in the marketplace.

 

If every country in the world had zero corporate taxes, then only labor, energy, and fixed costs would be the determining factor on where to produce.

 

I see no reason to make America a less attractive place to do business (via high costs), unless fewer businesses/employment is the goal.

 

Taxes (on the whole) are too often used to influence behavior, by coercion (of the poor, because the rich can buy their way to ignore it).

Edited by RangerM
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Taxes (on the whole) are too often used to influence behavior, by coercion (of the poor, because the rich can buy their way to ignore it).

 

Bingo! Liberals want to use corporate taxes as a way to redistribute income and find environmental and social programs and to punish "evil" greedy corporations. What most liberals fail to understand is that strategy simply doesn't work. If you raise taxes too much in one city/county/state/country and businesses have a choice (and most do nowadays) then they'll simply move somewhere else. And with no way to guarantee tax equity in foreign countries you're simply inviting those companies to move.

 

Just like the liberals calling for more taxes on oil companies not realizing that those taxes would simply be passed on to consumers and the oil company would make the same profit as before.

 

Likewise, giving corporations huge tax breaks with no guarantees in return doesn't necessarily work either. Give them tax breaks based on number of full time employees - that will encourage growth. That's why cities and counties give property tax breaks to lure new businesses - they make up the difference in taxes from the employees who are being added and from the money those employees then spend in those communities.

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Likewise, giving corporations huge tax breaks with no guarantees in return doesn't necessarily work either. Give them tax breaks based on number of full time employees - that will encourage growth. That's why cities and counties give property tax breaks to lure new businesses - they make up the difference in taxes from the employees who are being added and from the money those employees then spend in those communities.

 

Columbia, MO is dealing with this issue right now. The city lured IBM with tax breaks based on new employees hired. However, the number of employees in the CoMO office is slowly dwindling. They should have based it on number of full time employees at any given time and not just on the number hired.

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Columbia, MO is dealing with this issue right now. The city lured IBM with tax breaks based on new employees hired. However, the number of employees in the CoMO office is slowly dwindling. They should have based it on number of full time employees at any given time and not just on the number hired.

 

Been dealing with IBM contracts for the last 15 years. That is their MO. Get the deal then slowly whittle down their costs to maintain margins. Whoever negotiated that deal screwed up big time.

 

WIth outsourcing deals with IBM you have to put in a key employee provision where you can guarantee they keep certain individuals on your account. Otherwise they'll take all your good folks and put them on other projects and replace them with cheaper less competent individuals.

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I've just finished reading a couple of books in my downtime after surgery and I think it's time for Paul Rand or someone like him to clean up the last 20 years of slowly devolving the US. People blame obama (I do for many things) Bush has had his hand in it and others before him.

It doesn't matter who gets in, Repub or Dem, I think the States is slowly devolving into socialism and in 15 years you won't recognise the nanny-state.

The Rich at the top got there through hard work/good business sense/ruthlessness or all of the above..I have no problem with it as the cream rises to the top, HOWEVER..(and this is a major turn for me in my opinion) I think unregulated or unethical capitalism has put too few into positions to control everyone else. Am I a "occupy" type freak, hell no I'm very right wing, but I had an epiphany and got to not only see both sides of the fence (the financial book I'm currently reading is decidedly left wing and I haven't thrown it at the wall yet) but the main thing I've noticed, if you will, is that BOTH sides are doing the same thing only calling different things. Rep and Dem's want to be in power and will buy votes however they can to stay there.

 

The US has to pull it's collective head out of it's ass and stop being a world cop, stop dumping billions to other countries who don't care or are enemy's, Focus on closing the borders and become more self sufficient. Global trading is killing the US as it allows business to do manufacturing wherever is cheaper, pay taxes wherever is cheaper and spend it profit wherever it chooses. NONE OF THESE THINGS are in the US's best interest.

I'm not an isolationist per se, but first things first, the US has to stop hemorraging money out of the country.

 

Rep or Dem vote is a vote for more of the same. Russia,China, India, hell the whole freaking world is laughing at the US spending money it's borrowing from china to save a country that had an earthquake or flood that's right beside russia and china or india!

 

Paul Rand.....anything is better than the other party with two names!

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If the government is involved, it is screwed up, everyone knows this. Why would anyone think that the government can fix our problems? Our problem is; to much government involvement, not lack of government involvement.

 

I will vote for the republican if it is one of the real conservatives, or Rand Paul who is a libertarian. I have never done it before, but if none of these people win the nomination, I will vote 3rd party.

 

It no longer makes much difference if a rino or liberal gets elected, we are going downhill with the rino, and sinking even faster with the lib. Can everyone here imagine if the nominees are.........Hillary Clinton, and Jebster Bush!

 

The one thing I can say about Bernie is, he says what he thinks, tells you what he will do, and doesn't back down. I disagree with 85% of his ideas since I seen the USSR's economy in action, but at least he doesn't fabricate lies to get elected, then screw the people who voted for him later. (If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor!) or (this is not a tax!) or (I think common core is great, oh wait, the people don't like it so now I don't! )((Jebster))

 

I really think no matter what side of the political spectrum we each sit on, we need to fight and support better candidates; and when I say support, I mean reach into your wallet too! If we don't, we are going to lose this country, and if that happens, the money you didn't send that candidate will no longer exist anyway.

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I woke up this morning and almost threw up when I heard the news...Alberta voted in the NDP party. That is like Texas voting in a bi-sexual governor and who's only agenda is pushing gay rights.

 

Of course this isn't politically correct to say but I can't imagine a more holy crap moment...maybe waking up to the news that gremany actually did win the war? I don't know, unbelieveable.

 

Alberta is our Texas...and they went ndp which is either communist or in the least, facist....I'm still sick to my stomach and can't understand it. Either the corruption (which therewas a lot of) caught up to them, or the massive money capitalist albertans had (and freely threw around) that dried up when the price of crude went in the toilet turned everybody into nannystate left wingers?? I don't know but wow...FREAKING WOW!

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The US has to pull it's collective head out of it's ass and stop being a world cop, stop dumping billions to other countries who don't care or are enemy's, Focus on closing the borders and become more self sufficient. Global trading is killing the US as it allows business to do manufacturing wherever is cheaper, pay taxes wherever is cheaper and spend it profit wherever it chooses. NONE OF THESE THINGS are in the US's best interest.

I'm not an isolationist per se, but first things first, the US has to stop hemorraging money out of the country.

 

Agree with this statement, 100%

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If a candidate:

1. Promotes liberty and personal responsibility

2. Believes in the Constitution as the supreme law of the land and checks and balances.

3. Calls for lower taxes and less spending

4. Wants to secure our borders

They are immediately labeled by the liberal majority as "extreme".

 

My gosh, how has this happened right before our eyes! As a society, we have fallen for the oldest (can you say Cesar) of political tricks - divide and conquer, bread and circuses. Frankly, I am embarrassed by our government - both parties, and the people's lack of respect for the genius of the founding fathers.

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If a candidate:

1. Promotes liberty and personal responsibility

2. Believes in the Constitution as the supreme law of the land and checks and balances.

3. Calls for lower taxes and less spending

4. Wants to secure our borders

They are immediately labeled by the liberal majority as "extreme".

 

My gosh, how has this happened right before our eyes! As a society, we have fallen for the oldest (can you say Cesar) of political tricks - divide and conquer, bread and circuses. Frankly, I am embarrassed by our government - both parties, and the people's lack of respect for the genius of the founding fathers.

I used to be this conservative, in another lifetime. Not anymore. Never again.

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I used to be this conservative, in another lifetime. Not anymore. Never again.

 

You prove my point - thank you! How can these sensible basic principals that our nation was founded on be considered "this conservative". What is so "out there" about liberty and personal/fiscal responsibility?

 

1. Promotes liberty and personal responsibility

2. Believes in the Constitution as the supreme law of the land and checks and balances.

3. Calls for lower taxes and less spending

4. Wants to secure our borders

Edited by Kev-Mo
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