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If they really wanted to even it out they need to crack down on the tax evaders who live in Vancouver.

posted 2 years, 1 month ago
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Why does this idea that a tax break on capital gains would stimulate the economy keep coming up?

If you take economics 101, you learn that the marginal propensity to consume goes down drastically as income goes up.  This directly conflicts the reaganomics trickle down false economics.

I agree with the caller who is responsible and pays their taxes and understand that they are receiving something in return for the taxes.  The richest are the ones who get the greatest benefit from taxes, can afford it most, yet they complain the loudest.

Those individuals that would move to avoid taxes are NOT the kind of people that we as Oregonians want in the state anyway, let them leave.

posted 2 years, 1 month ago
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So when he stated it on the radio he changed the terms and definitions. This is indicative of how important that math teachers know language, just as language students must know math.

Unfortunately when math teachers aren't good at english their story problems are confusing and make students angry and frustrated with mathematics.

posted 2 years, 1 month ago
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So you believe in creating a world of uninformed consumers of financial products?  That seems to be what has happened with the latest generation and their view on debt.

posted 2 years, 1 month ago
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I love story problems, the problem here is in defining the terms.  For example to me a "commute" would include both directions of travel.

As such the answer to me is 20 miles per hour (average speed for the entire commute), however without properly defining the variables (such as the term commute) these problems are androgenous.

I absolutely love math and I find that the problem with people not caring about math is partially caused by teachers not properly developing real world situations and story problems to make a student think how Math can be useful.

I love story problems and enjoy finding ways to use mathn in real world situations, however many people are frustrated with story problems and have a hard time understanding the real world value of math.

I had great teachers and parents who always were asking me to use math in real world situations rather than with arithmatic problems.

posted 2 years, 1 month ago
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I wish we'd been given the opportunity to Elect Progressive Candidate Dennis Kucinich. 

Now there is a candidate that would make a good president, a true supporter of America.

However I do not know that he wouldn't have faced a similar "I'm taking my ball and going home" from the republigoons.

posted 2 years, 5 months ago
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The republican representative states how their "tea-party" and their party will be held to their promises?! 

Yet here they have been denying the extension of unemployment without an accompanying funding source. 

However they have agreed to an extension of the unemployment ALONG with an accompanying debt addition through tax break spending.

This is so hypocritical, and is typical for politicians but especially the right.  Also the republican stating that the stimulus didn't create jobs is incorrect I have personally witnessed many jobs that were created by ARRA stimulus.

The problem with the two party system is that they both have a captive revenue source, so of course they don't want to change that.  They say they need majorities but if there were more parties it wouldn't be such a civil war of right versus left so votes on bills could be done by party members based on their values rather than just toeing the line.

posted 2 years, 5 months ago
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We're there and we've been there for a decade.

posted 2 years, 5 months ago
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Exactly, the Democrats had a majority yet they bent over backwards to get a small percentage of republicans to feel happy.  For what??!? 

So they could say that they had "bi-partisan support." 

Then there are things that have been done such:

-Senate Bill 510, the Food Safety Modernization Act Which gives more power to large corporations such as Monsanto at the expense of the small farmers.

- Obama Appoints Michael Taylor, ex Monsanto vice president for public policy as the new FDA Deputy Commissioner for Foods.  Great this is the guy who made it so that GMO  doesn't need to be labeled, made it so we allow BGH in our milk production.

He has pandered to the large corporations and this has lost him credibility.

posted 2 years, 5 months ago
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We have always seen that politicians can never accomplish all that they want, and so it is easy to say that the sucessful candidate isn't fulfilling their campaign promises.

The old saying "says easy, does hard" applies to politics along with many other things in life.

I have of course been disapointed with some of the results over the last two years, but alas you can't really blame the lack of progress and accomplishment on the President.  The senate has stagnated and denied any progress in an attempt to do anything possible to portray Obama as a failure.

I am frustrated at how it appears that Obama has become a pushover and has acquieced on so many of his principles.

I don't think that he will see a second term, but I feel that the lack of progress has to do more with republican partisanship than his failure to pursue his campaign promises.

I find is deplorable that they did not take advantage of their majorities and just push forward the progress that we the people had asked for.  Instead they attempted to please the republicans as the republicans did everything and anything to hinder progress.

The problem I see in today's politics is that the two party system is outdated and leaves too many people without representation that reflects their ideals.

posted 2 years, 5 months ago
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I do not harbor any fear or apprehension towards muslim people any more than I hav fear or apprehension towrads christians, jews, or catholics.

I am always wary of these cult followers, as a great man once said:

"Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction." -Blaise Pascal

All religions are based on fear and hatred yet they claim they are about peace and love.

As Edgar Allen poe said

"All religion, my friend, is simply evolved out of fraud, fear, greed, imagination, and poetry."

"Religion is what the common people see as true, the wise people see as false, and the rulers see as useful." -Seneca

Until people stop  following religion blindly there will continually be violence against any who are different.

I apprecaite the diversity that otehr cultures bring such as the culture from the middle east, however I do not welcome their religion any more than I welcome the many organized religions in this country.

The greatest diservice to the USA is the tax exemptions for these large organized for profit cults.

posted 2 years, 5 months ago
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I feel that today's youth have poor communication skills, planning skills and are ultimately missing out on life due to their obsessions with texting, social networking, and cell phones.

I have noticed that a definite reduction in attention span, ability to spell and compose coherent messages, and verbal communication skills in todays youth who have grown up with cell phones.

Listening to these kids it's amazing how much they are dependent on their phones and think that they wouldn't be able to get together with friends or plan without the phone to text. 

Cell phones and social networking which appear to improve social interaction have seemed to me to create a more disconnected society. 

I also find it abhorrent that parents purchase their children cell phones.  As a parent I plan to not allow my children to purchase cell phones until they are over 18.

posted 2 years, 5 months ago
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