Taxation without representation...

Econ 101: Profit = Revenue - Cost

Given above, how will increased cost drive a business (or an nation's economy)?

Given less profit, how will a business ever find a way to increase investments, increase payroll, fund R&D and most importantly, pay you more $$$?

Either we (and I mean all of us) pay the tax or the employer does, either way, the money is left to congress to spend, which I think you would agree has been a very bad idea over last 8 years under both Demo and Republican leadership...

Read this (This breaks down the actual positions of each candidate in a mater-of-fact, unbiased manner (that will certainly appeal to the data junkie in you!):

http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/taxtopics/election_issues_matrix.cfm

Obama has clearly stated (and when I say "he" has stated, I mean his PAC bankrolled speechwriters) that he will both raise taxes and raise spending (socialism, no?). Whereas John McCain has stated the opposite: cut spending and balance budget in four years/reduce taxes... sure, he may be unable to actually achieve that, but the Libertarian in me likes the candidate who at least speaks to this approach.

BTW, the tax hit really comes in once you hit $100K in salary once you factor for Obama's increase in FICA taxes, so the $250K utterance is yet another dubious statement from the candidate among many...

Let us revisit the Profit = Revenue - Cost model, but this time apply to the US Govt. (or more specifically the US Congress' Budget)...

Obama promises to increase both taxes and spending. McCain, promises to cut taxes and cut spending (if you ask how McCain will cut spending, I will grant you that one - I haven't heard his details either!). However, Obama essentially promises to blow up the P=R-C model above and continue to sell US T-Bond paper to our "friends" in China and Saudi further bankrupting the USA and our children. (I find it is people with children who can understand these precepts the best, because of the generational implications).

The only way to dig ourselves out of this mess is to pay down the National Deficit and strengthen the US Dollar. Any other approach misses the mark and dooms us and our children. On top of that, Barry wants to pull money out of the tax constituencies that pay over 95% of the entire tax revenue stream - the upper fifth of the tax base and the corporations - the very people and organizations who actually create jobs, large-scale innovation, currently saddled with paying the highest corporate tax in the world already!. Remember, income tax was intended to be a "temporary" tax to support the WWII effort and then be removed after the War. It never was...

Now people like Barry (and McCain, to a lesser extent) make their living by disbursing it to their PAC pals. This is where Obama really loses me, BTW: He portrays himself as "a man of the people" while his largest supporters are Fannie/Freddie, GE, Hedge Funds, I-Banks, etc. He is every bit in the pocket of the PAC's as McCain is...

To set context: this is written by a lifelong Democrat who has finally severed ties with the party... I have for years adopted a Libertarian approach (less government = better for the population). After Barry has lined up with his Corporate/PAC donors, we can see where his bread will be buttered and that is an untenable combination of Populist and Corporate Socialism. Does McCain represent the "best" solution? Absolutely not! Do I like Bush? No chance - he will be seen as the worst president in history (until/unless Obama takes office where he will quickly make Bush look like a Tiberius to his Caligula)...

I'm just asking good people to follow a path of independent thinking and a path of Liberty. When you do this, you find McCain is the only viable candidate of the two, as poor a selection as we have been given.

Best,

Mike