"Tax cuts for corporations".. seems to be the only "plan" the republicans can come up with

[SoCalDem]

Corporations/businesses getting tax cuts will just make for higher profits..

Why would a tax cut encourage them to hire people back, to make stuff that no one's buying?

Capitalism has FAILED..at least 3 times I can think of, and EACH time the GOVERNMENT has had to use taxp[ayer dollars to bail them out, and steady the economy again...only to see them ruin it all again, with some new crackhead scheme..

[annabanana]

1. the only tool in the tool's toolbox

Supply side economics is and always has been a chimera, a fever dream of ivory tower ideologues who had no place in their imagination to allow for the possibility that bankers might be greedy.

[woodwrite]

2. GOP is just a glorified corporate lobbying group

... and the continual drumbeat about tax cuts is (and always has been) in reality a thinly-veiled threat disguised as the old carrot-and-stick ploy,... When they speak of trickle-down economics as if it were among several choices available to economic planners, what they are really saying is, "It's trickle-down or nothing." But you are quite right and the point should be hammered home to voting Americans on a daily basis. Tax cuts for corporations ARE the ONLY plan they ever have. Beyond that, it's baiting the fundies with dramatic rhetoric about: 1)prayer in schools 2)pledge of allegiance 3)gays 4)gun control 5)abortion 6)ten-foot-tall Russians 7)patriotism 8) public display of the flag or the Ten Commandments 9)Monica Lewinsky 10)drugs,... ETC, ETC. They obviously based their gameplan on certain astute observations by P T Barnum.

[barbfears]

3. Tax Cuts and Rich People

How much money does someone really need?  How do all the
sports starts, radio personalities and corp. head get all the
breaks and we working Joe's get nothing.  Can we not tax
people who have over about $10 million in the bank to help us
out?  

[salguine]

4. There needs to be a major shift in the way we measure how well the

economy is doing. Right now, we simply look at Wall Street. If Wall Street's doing well, the country's doing well; and the economy's doing poorly when there's a slump on Wall Street, or so they tell us. As we've all seen, this is basically horseshit; 99% of Americans do not share in the successes of Wall Street, so why should that mean anything, other than to serve to illustrate the point that the health of the Corporations is the only thing "they" consider worth measuring, and how ordinary citizens are faring is irrelevant?

We need to revise the system, using how ORDINARY AMERICANS are doing as the barometer for the health of the economy.

[Buns_of_Fire]

6. Very much agreed, but what metrics should we use?

And how do we measure them?

Using Wall Street as the measure of our collective economic health obviously leaves much to be desired -- but what shall we replace it with? And who will crunch the numbers? Letting Washington do it is just leading to more statistical perversions.

The problem, as I see it, is that the only other entity with as much reach would be the M$M -- and we know how much THEY'VE helped matters recently.

[SoCalDem]

7. The measurements have to be stratified..

Just remove the SUPER-rich from the mix altogether.. they only skew the stats..i.e.
................................
figuring the average income of a street..

street has 2 houses

one family makes $1 million a year.. the other household is unemployed.. Average household income of the street? $500,000.00 a year..
........................................

And in reality super rich often buy very little, day to day.. they have employees, but are often TREATED to free meals, free travel, free clothing in exchange for mentioning the designers.. jewelers let them "borrow" jewelry, they get offers to "use" other rich people's homes in vacation spots, get free rides on corporate jets..

Everyone of a certain age, remembers when the US had clout..that period should be the benchmark..not some random date in 1985, during Reagan's reign. Those numbers were probably "cooked" anyway.

Wall Street is a CASINO...

Just as the moniker "small business" is carelessly used, the term "middle class" should be re-evaluated. When many people say Middle Class, they are thinking of a "Leave it to Beaver" middle class, where people had an "ease" to their living..

OUR middle class is not much of a life for many..

[KharmaTrain]

5. It's Lots Of Noise To Hold Their Dwindling Base Together....

The GOOP has officially written off 75% of the nation. It's as though not only we don't exist, but all the problems this country were our fault. They have to believe that way or what remains of their inept party will disolve. Their party is heavily fractured right now and the party leadership is desperately looking for something they can rally around. Abortion won't do it...while it jacks up the fundies, it has little sizzle with the neo cons...Iraq won't do it either. The one meme that crosses all the fractures is the selfish concept of "big government" and "tax cuts". It's one of their biggest lies that still gets milage on hate radio and the corporate media.

What good is a tax cut for someone without a job or has seen their savings and investments crumble? What good are tax breaks for businesses that can't get loans to keep the doors open? The only motive the GOOP has is to be selfish and nothing says it more than "tax breaks"...as long as you don't touch their corporate welfare.

I'll be happy to pass corporate tax breaks the day they offer true employee profit sharing. I won't hold my breath for that to happen.

[Median Democrat]

8. Yup, Its The Ireland Is A Capitalist Utopia Argument

Its discussed and destroued in this thread:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=4957316&mesg_id=4957316