General Music Chat

Damn glad ... maybe my sister can retire soon.

What is it with liberals not wanting anyone ( except themselves ) to make a profit ??

Liberals have 401ks and IRAs. Liberals have kids and want them to have a chance at the American dream. Liberals want corporations to make a profit. But we also want these giants to pay their fair share in taxes. Why should the middle class carry the burden while the poor and the rich pay little to nothing?

Oil companies get the same deductions as every other business. However government truth spinners call it a tax loophole when they get it. OK. Snack on this one. First the oil companies lose the ability to deduct expenses, after all, that is what we are calling a loop hole. First them, then you. First their development expenses, then your home mortgage deduction, your business deductions, and so on.

For the brainiacs that see this as a good thing, are you so F^%$#^G stupid that you don't realize that every deduction, every business expense, is passed on to the the consumer? Are you so stupid you can't figure out that those development expenses are going to be added to your price of gas at the pump? Are you so stupid that you don't see this as class warfare? Are you so ignorant that you do not think that this regime first tests the waters by taking away deductions from big business to set president before they come after your deductions?

First their deductions, then your deductions. And all the time you are going to bear the burden of making up the loss of their deductions at the store, at the pump, and everywhere else, eventually reaching every personal and business deduction you now can deduct. These Nazis are shutting down coal power plants. They are regulating new plants to discourage the building of those new power plants. Just what do you think that is going to do to the size of your spendable income? Your energy costs will double, but the profits those companies make will increase.

Every time any business is over regulated and over taxed the consumer is the one footing the bill in the end. And most business that is targeted by the liberal regime ends up downsizing... so you end up paying more taxes to support their leisurely life on unemployment. Hmmm, just how many weeks is that up to now days? How much is that added to the burden of the taxpayer?

Taxing isn't the problem. Over spending is the problem. To trying to run your energy prices up is as moronic as voting for a third party. And that is the most moronic position I have heard so far in conservative politics. Dividing the non demoncrat votes among two groups would easily insure a win for the demoncarts who stand in lock step with almost every vote. You may as well just vote for the opposition and hand over this country to Socialism. Only the stupid want to legislate their freedom away, and there are a lot of stupid people out there. The public school system insured that.

I'm a trucker. Trucking is a complex business. You have to be a certified driver to drive one. OK. Get through that. Licensing For commercial now cost you more fore every endorsement, not to mention health card endorsement. Of course because you have endorsements, now if you really want to be in business for yourself, buy a truck. Get past that. Pay for your possible net weight. Pay for every axle. Pay an amount to every municipality you plan on doing business with. With hold enough of your earnings so that you can pay Commercial Inspectors because your mudflap is 1/2 inch too short. Pay an outright robbery tax for fuel. A small business owners greatest problem is who's going to wash the windows, of which they could do themselves. BP will help your strip mall look delightful if you live in Texas I understand. They'll buy the posies for your poesy pot, you put 'em in. In Ohio, If you want to haul fuel, another endorsement please. You'll have to renew this one every two years with added fees ,and of course- another test you will pay for. That all goes to government you are trying to say I endorse. Where's my deduction for development? Moron and stupid can only be applied to you if you put up with those taxes so that you can bring toilet paper to those who will call you that. Sh!t tax should apply here. $10.00 a roll, thank you very much.

The only way is a grass roots BOYCOTT. Boycott BP

I started the day the well blew. Saw the news story, listened to the propaganda the BP reps were spouting and decided BP could join Exxon.

Remember the Exxon Valdez oil spill years ago? An Exxon "representative" was interviewed on TV and was asked about the cost of the cleanup. He blithely replied "Ohh, we'll just pass the cost on to our customers." I stopped being a customer that moment, haven't spent a penny on Exxon ever since, with the unfortunate exception of one night at 3AM after a gig, needed gas and Exxon was the only place in the very small Louisiana town that was still open. So Exxon got $10. So, I've spent exactly $10 with Exxon since the oil spill on the pacific coast, which was how many years ago??? You can bet BP will get no more than that either.

Didja notice that, as Exxon raised its prices to cover its costs after the Valdez incident, that there was NO DIFFERENCE in its prices, in comparison to all the other oil co's? EVERY ONE OF THEM raised their prices, right in line with Exxon. To this day, Exxon, BP, Shell, Mobile, Gulf - the lot of them have the very same prices at the pumps. They KNOW they don't need to compete. There's enough $ in the pockets of us all to go around to these outfite.

Now tell me that this isn't a trust. They prolly have a web-meeting every month to see what they can bilk out of us in the next 30 days, so there ain't no paper trail.

Crunch, I am an independent trucker too. You are preaching to the choir.
Yes we want to do it as safe as possible but this pendulum has swung so far it is just costing everyone. I ran a few loads of Fireworks through N.Y.C. over the 4th weekend. Can't go through NY without an escort. COOL FUN. Expensive.

As far as the oil companies, lets all just stop using oil and gas and plastics and stop driving and heating our homes and doing just about everything that has helped to make our lives so comfortable.
OR,

We can just nationalize all the energy producing companies, violate the constitution in the process, and come that much closer to a socialized plan similar to the one imposed by CHAVEZ in Venezuela. CITGO, for those of you that don't like communist dictators. Way to funny

Look, the Constitution was never designed to protect the monopolies & trusts. In fact, the Hudson Trading Co's biz practices were considered one of the reasons we broke off relations with the UK. It wasn't all about "unfair taxation."

This country was designed to give us all an equal opportunity to "make it." When you have these co's handling absolute necessities in unfair manners, it goes against the grain of the plan of our forefathers. Without regulation, we will become slaves to these outfits.

Without some sort of artificial controls in place, we are all doomed to worship at the alters of Exxon, BP, & their ilk.

If you can't see that, you have a blindfold on...not just blinders!

This holds true for ALL those goods & services that we have become so dependent upon - gas, electric, food, water...health insurance, too.

Damn glad ... maybe my sister can retire soon.

What is it with liberals not wanting anyone ( except themselves ) to make a profit ??

Liberals have 401ks and IRAs. Liberals have kids and want them to have a chance at the American dream. Liberals want corporations to make a profit. But we also want these giants to pay their fair share in taxes. Why should the middle class carry the burden while the poor and the rich pay little to nothing?

Damn good thing conservatives have none of those things ... your president is the one trying to steal from you.
Not those few willing to give you a job not paid for from others taxes.

Wake up call my friend ... in the NWO
You ARE the rich.

Philby , you just explained it all, Kudos.
We have wandered so far away from the constitution that we have allowed all this sh*t to happen.

Yet at the same time you are screaming for more of the same regulations and government controls that have brought us so far away from what was once truly great.

You think about what you wrote. Very poignant.

What I'm screaming about is govt. control. I think Philby was controlled.

I'm a trucker. Trucking is a complex business. You have to be a certified driver to drive one. OK. Get through that. Licensing For commercial now cost you more fore every endorsement, not to mention health card endorsement. Of course because you have endorsements, now if you really want to be in business for yourself, buy a truck. Get past that. Pay for your possible net weight. Pay for every axle. Pay an amount to every municipality you plan on doing business with. With hold enough of your earnings so that you can pay Commercial Inspectors because your mudflap is 1/2 inch too short. Pay an outright robbery tax for fuel. A small business owners greatest problem is who's going to wash the windows, of which they could do themselves. BP will help your strip mall look delightful if you live in Texas I understand. They'll buy the posies for your poesy pot, you put 'em in. In Ohio, If you want to haul fuel, another endorsement please. You'll have to renew this one every two years with added fees ,and of course- another test you will pay for. That all goes to government you are trying to say I endorse. Where's my deduction for development? Moron and stupid can only be applied to you if you put up with those taxes so that you can bring toilet paper to those who will call you that. Sh!t tax should apply here. $10.00 a roll, thank you very much.

I'm glad you got licensed in the U.S. that perhaps made it a stringent program. I say this becuse I have seen the truck drivers we let into this country from south of the border. Your skills are inherently far more superior than their skills. Thank you for going along with the U.S. requirements. I'll always trust your driving and presence on the road a thousand times over that of the foreign drivers, who did not take the time to get properly qualified.

I have to say I think Philby is right, corporations like this have gotten out of hand. They make billions and pay almost nothing in taxes, WE pay their share of taxes. If they would pony up and pay their taxes same as us, this country's deficit would evaporate in 2 years or less. With the economy at its worst in 50 years or more they constantly raise prices on a necessary evil we cannot function without, so what if we can't afford it. Even when crude prices go down, which is blatant price gouging. Yes, the government needs to do something about it, on both fronts, but it won't happen for two reasons.

1. The government listens only to MONEY, not us. And the oil companies have lots of it. Enough to influence politicians.

2. The politicians make money. All huge corporations spend insane amounts of money lobbying congress. Free trips to every great vacation spot you can think of for "conventions"...just vote for this little bill. Campaign donations...I'm fairly sure outright bribes and payoffs are common too.

Not only oil companies, food companies pressured the FDA not long ago and got the go ahead to put aspertame in organic foods. MSG is in most of the products in the grocery store, they got the OK years ago to classify it as a spice, so they can just put "spices" on the label. Fast food companies had a law passed that says you cannot sue them if their food makes you fat, which it definitely will. They've been trying hard for years to get our very right to free speech blocked so you can't even talk bad about them. Merck sold Vioxx for 5 years after they knew it was killing people, over 20,000 people, and nobody ever spent a night in jail for mass murder on a grand scale. But they made something like $15 billion on sales of Vioxx alone. The FDA knew it was killing people. Nobody did a thing about it. No charges were ever filed.

Phil may be calling for the very form of regulation he does not like, I don't either, but it is very necessary, as much as I don't like it. It will never happen, these corporations have enough money and power to tell congress what to do. Exxon was reporting over $40 billion the first quarter of last year. While raising prices constantly as if they were losing money.

I usually stay out of political discussions, but this goes beyond politics, this is a matter of out of control greed destroying this country. I have nothing against making money, and making lots of it is not a bad thing. But using it to cheat the country out of tax dollars and pressure congress into passing legislation that is detrimental to the public is just plain evil.

Excessive taxation was one of the reasons for the colonists who moved to this country originally. Now we pay much more in taxes than they did by far. The reason for the Boston Tea Party was to fight a monopoly on tea. Every corporation out there is constantly trying to gain a monopoly on whatever business it is in. The government only steps in when forced to do so. Microsoft still has a monopoly in the operating system market, which was proven in court years ago, then the court simply let them off the hook. This is a very widespread problem, not limited to big oil by a long shot.

What we need to do is get the people to get off their lazy asses and stop voting for the same slimeballs who put us in this position. None of the past 6 presidents or so should have been elected to begin with, much less for second terms. Nixon should have been sent to prison, Clinton too. Probably Bush as well, and I'm sure we could find reason to put obummer in there with them. Fact is though, WE let it happen by sitting on our lazy, complacent butts and not voting them out or impeaching their sorry asses.

"If they would pony up and pay their taxes same as us, this country's deficit would evaporate in 2 years or less. "

Right on. Lets see..... over 3 trillion + debt per year, - BP's several billion. OK. Lets say BP makes 500 billion a year and we take every penny of it away. BP = +500 billion a year debt = 3.5 trillion a year. Wow. I never did the math before. Yupper, that would make all our problems go away in just a couple of years. Including our cars and home heating, since all expenses are passed onto the consumer.

Any flaming libs that want to steal everyone else's money ever thought that the increasing price of oil is tied directly to the devaluation of the dollar that they keep printing without any backing other than the dollar in YOUR wallet, savings account, and retirement fund? You suckers bought into class warfare like the fools that the dems thought you would be.

If we took every penny from every American, we would only be able to balance the budget for one year. Then we would have to begin all over again the next year. However, there would be "0" jobs and "0" dollars left to create any jobs.
We have enough tax money coming in every month to pay the interest on the debt, and to pay for essential services such as social security, armed services, and the likes. What we can't pay is non essential services. It is the size of government and their out of control spending that is the problem. Did you know that there are over twice the amount of people working for the government than in all of the private sector? Did you know that a lot of them retire early with full pay pensions? Do you know that the average government union worker gets about twice what the private sector worker gets paid for the same work?

So we have 1/3 of the workforce paying for the wages and retirement packages of those making twice what they are paid. And even if they gave every penny they make every month the math doesn't lie. One third, making 1/2 of what the 2/3 make. Sounds sustainable to me. So how does that continue without downsizing government worker bloat. The problem is that the news media is in bed with the liars who are robbing you , your children, and their children blind. And a good many people are simply too stupid to think for themselves.

It is God who determines who has wealth and who doesn't, at least according to the Bible. You just go right ahead and tell him that you know better than he does. A discontent only hurts himself by looking at his brothers wallet and becoming dissatisfied. If he did not know what his brother was paid, which incidentally none of his business in the first place, he would be content with what God has given to him. It eats at them from inside and robs them of the gratitude they should have for the blessings God has given to them.

He who recieves a prophet recieves a prophets reward.

Sorry Slack, but you are talking to the masses that believe life owes them a living. The use of government to do this has been proven throughout history.

The only real difference this time, we all still have our guns.

Who said anything about taking all their money??? I said pay their taxes...their fair share of taxes and not just BP. All the huge corporations. If you think even for a second they only take their legitimate deductions, you're crazy. I have no problem with legitimate deductions, but I've seen plenty small businessmen who are nowhere close to the level of multinational corporations keep receipts for gas, meals, hotels etc for personal, not business use, to use as business tax deductions. We foot the bill for that. Those of us who aren't in a position to take any deductions at all. Corporations do that on a grand scale. Fuel for their yachts goes into the pile of receipts for tax deductions. Repairs and so forth on their personal vehicles, everything they can think of gets listed as business tax deductions. Deductions that have nothing to do with business.

And that's before you consider the loopholes and tax shelters set up by politicians to allow them to pay less taxes. I didn't say take all of BP's money, or anyone else. Just get them to pay their fair share of this country's tax bill. They don't even think about it as it stands.

I don't know more than the tip of the iceberg. But if you figure up how much money this country is losing to loopholes and tax shelters, and non legitimate deductions, it's a huge pile of money.

Yep, government spending is way out of hand too, has been for a long time. 30 years ago shows like 60 minutes were airing segments about white house purchases of things like everyday claw hammers for $200. You could get the same hammer at any hardware store for $10 at that time. Toilet seats $400. I bought one 10 years later for $8. The pens the president used to sign documents $25 each. The same pen I could buy anywhere for under a dollar at that time.

Then there's loads of other excesses. Excess government spending has been a huge problem for a long time, and a well known one, and as far as I know nobody has been able to get anyone in the white house to even think about reducing it. Not to a degree that will make any difference at least.

LOL Glen!

I dunno where you get that idea. I never said anything of the kind.

What I MEAN is that part of the duty of our gov't is to assure that everyone gets an equal chance. We do not have that at the moment, when co's are free to band together & block everyone else from entering the market. We do not have that when co's can buy up all the necessary resources so that no one else can enter the market. We do not have that when a co can over charge for necessary goods or services to hold others back, economically.

Keep your blindfold on, though, by all means. Feed the machine. You'll make a very tasty soylent green one day...