Putting the talkers to the test. Let's see just how much you believe in what you preach.

Let me know if this works, CharlesCS!

If anyone has any left over funds after bailing out CharlesCS, I could use "bail" money too!!   

~SH80

Oooh, I'm racking up a fair bit of college debt.  If anyone out there wants to 'bail me out' you're more than welcome.

C'mon you millionaires out there...help a guy out.

~Zoo

Me too!  2 in college, one about to enter and one just got out!  I have a LOT of college debt!

Keep it coming fellas (and ladies if any). We seem to have a lot of debt but no one stepping up to show rich people how it's done. I just wanna see if these people truly believe it's patriotic to help the poor.

Well, CharlesCS, you're not actually 1500.0 dollars in debt. In fact, you're more like 35,000.0 dollars in debt, on top of whatever else you owe.

whaa?

That's the cost of the 10.5 trillion U.S debt divided by 300 million. So, every single man, woman and child in the U.S, whether they be unemployed or not, owes at least $ 35,000.0

That means if you have a family of 4, you owe $ 140,000.

"But hold on there, over the years I've paid waaaay more than $ 35,000 in taxes!!!"

Yes, you may have but that money didn't go towards the debt. That's why it's called debt. The government spent it when they didn't have it. By the time all is said and done almost 3 trillion will have been spent on Iraq, Afghanistan and other overseas military adventures. How did this situation develop?

Well, back in the early days of his first term, Bush pushed through some pretty substantial tax cuts that effectively reduced government income.

For the record, Clinton handed Bush a 127 billion surplus, which Bush has managed to turn into 10 trillion in debt!!!! Kinda happens when you reduce income (cutting taxes) and at the same time, INCREASE spending. Ya know. You need all those nuclear submarines and F-35 fighter jets to hunt down Bin Laden. Oooops, haven't got him yet, nevermind.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm all for cutting taxes. But to decrease your revenue while increase your spending? Well that's just downright fiscally irresponsible!!!

Don't worry though, you won't have to pay your 35,000 in debt (that number will probably increase over time too)

Your children, and possibly their children may be the ones saddled with it.

When was the last tijme the US was out of debt?

Hint:  No one alive today remembers it.

What you say is not technically true, but the spirit is not new either.  Our grandparents children did not pay it, our parents children did not pay it, and sad to say, our children and grandchildren will probably not pay it either.  Unless and until there is a fundamental change in the laws of the land (i.e. a constitutional amendment), I dont see it changing.  Neither major party here in the states has shown the ability or willpower to make the tough decisions and stop the psychological malady of "living for the day" instead of planning for the future.

Artysim, I am not interested in everyone elses debt right now, neither am I interested in the debt the Gov't has created that I will be forced to pay thru my taxes. I am talking about this whole "help the poor" ideal that Democrats have. That $35,000.00 debt you say I will have, I won't. Why? Because I don't actually pay taxes. I get all my money back every year on my tax refund plus some extra money for my kids, on top of that I got the extra $1200 they gave recently. I am poor according to the Democrats so I need other people to pay for my stuff, or for banks to lend me money even though I am of high risk.

Right now, I wanna see just how much people like you and others believe those with money should help those who don't have it. I am a "see it to believe it" kinda person and unless I see these people (those who decry rich can pay with the extra money they have) actually helping the poor they way they claim it should be done, I will just think of the idea as a sham by those who are envious of those with money and by those who have money but wanna pander to those  who are envious so they can win political positions for personal gain.

Prove me wrong Artysim, prove me wrong.

Charles, you can easily be debt free with just over $100/month in payments for a period of 1 year OR when you get your ITR with EIC in the spring, use that to pay it off.  $1500 is an easy fix. 

I think the EIC makes your complaint/point moot really.  It may be involuntary, but Republicans and Democrats alike ARE going to be paying for your debt.  Or giving you cash that you can choose to not use on your debt.  Either way.

1) Apples and oranges Charles, as we're in different countries. How much do you pay for healthcare? I pay nothing. But, I also have approx 35-40% of my income taken by the government in taxes.

2) 1500.0 dollars in debt? Most folks have way more than that. I've got more debt than that, between student loans and vehicle payments. YOU should be helping ME out!!!!

3) There is no free lunch. You may think that the U.S can infinitely expand it's debt, but that will only fly so long as the U.S is top dog on the world stage. The day is coming when that will not be so any longer (nothing lasts forever) at which point the U.S could very well face a collapse very similar to what hapenned to Argentina a few years back. What goes up must go down. An entire nation that bases it's society on constantly expanding debt is doomed to failure!

Shhhhhhhh, don't spoil my plans. I agree with you, and it's the reason I don't really ask for help. In this case, I was trying to prove a point and if I happen to find someone who wanted to pay this off for me in the process well what the heck.

$25 a week. Plus what ever taxes I get taken out of my check. In the end I may get my money back in a tax refund but I don't see that money for over a year and the Gov't probably earns interest on it while they hold it till tax season. The way I see it, it's a way for me to save money for something I always wanted, but to be honest i would rather know I am helping my country by contributing which in a way I am.

So because I have so little I don't qualify? Hmm, there are rich people who have way more debt than poor people, should they be helped as well? I should help you? So you went and created all this debt you couldn't afford and now you want me to help you yet because I have less then you I shouldn't be complaining? Where did the fairness go here?

Well that may be true, but I don't see it happening any time soon. And I don't think we will be falling as hard as you may think (or want). We have fallen before, but we have always managed to get back up. We may not be top dog for ever, buT I am sure we are smart enough to be part of the big boys group which instead of having 1 top dog will be composed of multiple top dogs (kinda like the elders).

BTW, thanks for proving my point. Help for the poor isn't all it's cracked up to be based on your responses so far. You seem more keen to getting me to help myself more than getting help for me.

BTW, apple and oranges may not be the same, but they are both fruits, the both can be made into juice and are 2 of the most common drinks found in breakfast and schools. The way I see it, apples and oranges are more alike than some may think.

why the fuck am i still working, and why the fuck do I insist on never buying stuff with money I don't have? (I have never, EVER, in my enire life, been in debt, in fact every year the amount of money I have saved increases)

I need to rack up some heavy debt so I could be "bailed" out. (fuck, we already have a bail out program, it is called BANKRUPCY... just sign the dotted line and all your debt goes away, a fresh start with no money and no debt...)

OK, relax, take a deep breath, I'm sure there was a point in there somewhere.

The irony is that (and this is a good thing) I never inherited my fathers ability to spend within my means and to make money out of nothing. But my kids seem to have some of his habits which I hope in the future will benefit them in the same way it did my father. So long as I avoid teaching them my bad habits. I guess it skips a generation of something.  

Doesn't help your credit rating though...so you have to pay for things with briefcases full of cash.

~Zoo

Nah!  Just get a loan from the government!  They dont care about "no steenkeen credit rip-ort!"

.... you rack up TONS of debt... and then decide to just not pay it (bankrupcy)... ofcourse people wouldn't wan't to lend you money again (credit rating)... and as a second bail out your bad credit goes away after 7 years, so you can do it all over again. (if you already got bailed out that way, you should have bad credit for life)

Since I never bought anything with money I don't have, I have never actually NEEDED credit.

Well believe me when I say I would be most appreciative if you did. I'll admit that my ignorance played one hell of a role in the concept of me not knowing I was never really paying taxes when I got my refund back. I'll be honest and say that when times are tough I don't see myself complaining about getting it back, but I would not complain if I didn't get it all back. I like the idea of knowing I am contributing to my country.

Yea, I heard many stories of people having kids just to get more money from the Gov't. I also recall hearing stories about people in the US who would use the children of their families living in Puerto Rico on their taxes to get more money. I can see how young people can lean Democrat when they don't always understand where this money comes from till they see it being taken out of their paycheck, especially when their wage grows and so does the amount of taxes taken.

If I was interested in making more money by taking it from someone else then yes, Obama would be the guy for me. But I wanna be part of the world that people like Brad live in someday (I still have hopes of reaching that goal) and a person like Obama does not benefit my goals. I don't wanna be poor forever, I plan on changing my lifestyle, even if it takes me years.

Well, if there is one thing I love most obout this country, is that I can believe I can. I'll choose to believe I will someday. And I will do what I can to try to get there. I may not live like Brad, but anything close to that is good enough for me.

FUBARED

This post somehow got fubared, the quote code did not work right here, I copy pasted it into a new post and it worked there, and then deleted this one..

Also the forum software REALLY needs to work natively with nested quotes (quoting a person who made a quote should have a quote inside a quote automatically)...

I recommend phpbb

If someone is making money off of EIC, they are neglecting their children.  EIC doesn't cover the cost of feeding, clothing, and providing for a child.  No way.  Someone who has more kids in hopes of getting a bigger check is really bad at math or starving his/her kids.

If I'm not mistaken, the cut off for EIC is 3 kids anyways. 

Regardless of whether it's right or wrong that EIC exists, only an idiot would believe they would come out ahead popping out another child just to collect it.

PS - the brown-nosing on this site cracks me up.  I wonder if some people are under the impression that if they suck up enough Brad will do something for them, LOL.  Funny.

right... its not our honest opinion that brad is entitled to HIS MONEY and that it shouldn't be wealth redistributed... it is brown nosing because we want something (heh, an ironic choice of words)... [/sarcasm]

LOL, no keep kissing ass.    It's fun to watch.

I agree, but one other thing I have seen, that I failed to point out, is that many of those who I heard do this actually had jobs that paid under-the-table so they not only got Govt money but also has extra money for working. Strange how it works, huh? I should know, as a child (around 6 or 7) I was an interpreter for many of my family members and their friends when going to welfare and food stamp offices.

Well, I don't truly mean to kiss Brads butt, but if it happens to benefit me to agree with him often, then by all means I won't say no to it.

ha, depth preception, that was a good one