Giuliani has same the same problem with the social views, I think Giuliani would make a top notch AG or in another cabinet job, I don’t think he could get elected either. Paulson is not real popular right now with anyone due to the bailouts.

Some here think she cost McCain the election, rubbish. She saved McCain from a really bad blowout. Prior the Palin nomination one word kept coming to my mind “Dole”, reports I have read had rallies where she was present as full and spirited and ones where John McCain was the sole appearance just did not have the same zip. John McCain never had the moderates & independent voters and as it turns out he did not really have the base either.

Landslide? What landslide? I grant you the election was called earlier than what we saw in ’00 & in ’04, but that was no landslide. Ask Carter & Mondale about landslides.

As far as gay marriage goes, I have noticed socially conservative measures most often poll better than Republican and Democrats.

“plenty… all my clients in consulting average over 5 mil a year”

individuals? or corporate clients each one absolute-majority owned by a single individual?

thanks for the info

how many companies in Silicon Valley can afford to pay a salary of 95K a year? no wonder stock options can greatly offset a relatively small wage

for sure lawyers are well-paid in California (well beyond the median) – it offers the toughest state bar exam in the whole US

pero comparing SF and LA with NYC, mas mahal ang standard of living sa NYC, di ba?

Census Bureau also reports that for 2007, the top 1.9 percent, had income greater than $250,000 in 2007. (About 20 percent of households make more than $100,000.)

According to the American College of Surgeons, the annual salary for general surgeons ranges from $249,700 to $336,000. A second- or 3rd-year US surgeon works about 70- to 80-hours a week and makes $180/00 an hour.

A particular business may have $9M-a-year in receipts with the owner drawing $140K/year gross-income and submitting his income tax AGI of $100K (and the bulk of the business income “buried” as retained earnings).

The average Harvard professor now has a salary of about $185,000 per year. Throw in consulting and book-royalties and the full-professors should get over $220K a year.

Salary of a US senator : 2008 — $169,300 per annum.
Salary of US President : $400,000 a year, plus benefits.

The clintons were bankrupt when they left the White House (from lawyer-fees defending themselves against various lawsuits), but immediately made over a million from book royalties..

A surgeon or a Harvard-full-professor and most anyone making a yearly-AGI over $250K a year usually have become more sophisticated with money and also have a set of business- and social-contacts that make more business opportunities available to them..

“Cut military spending when appropriate (not now, obviously), cut all these aid contributions to other countries (except for humanitarian aid), cut subsidies to farmers who get paid for throwing away their food, cut subsidies to big oil. Start there, instead of always starting at the bottom like Republicans do.”

tell that to Obama

“Credit is so tight that even people with solid incomes and excellent credit histories have a hard time getting loans. What are the chances that a poor individual will get a loan?”

Google search Bonds for first time Homeowners, FHA, 100% financing for rural areas, and USDA guaranteed home loans.

“Quick, pop quiz… how many individuals do you know who actually make $200,000 a year or more?”

plenty… all my clients in consulting average over 5 mil a year.

“If, as you say, Obama wants to keep jobs here instead of shipping them overseas, how exactly will that result in, as you say, increased labor competition and salary reduction?”

US unemployment is almost 7%. With unemployment rising, firms can easily negotiate salary reductions and hire the best.

But , its’ the economy, Nobama

Anyway, What GOP’ers consistently overlook (or deliberately decline to mention) is that the GOP always look at social safety net spending [b]first[/b] when they move to cut government spending. It’s always the same old chorus of cutting taxes (heavily skewed towards the rich and the truly poor, usually neglecting the middle class) AND cutting social spending. As I said before, I am pretty conservative when it comes to fiscal matters. I would love to see a wholesale reduction in tax burden, but not at the expense of social safety.

Cut military spending when appropriate (not now, obviously), cut all these aid contributions to other countries (except for humanitarian aid), cut subsidies to farmers who get paid for throwing away their food, cut subsidies to big oil. Start there, instead of always starting at the bottom like Republicans do.

And if you think for one second that the poor will actually benefit from this foreclosure crisis in the short and medium term, then you are either a Pollyanna or a realtor. Credit is so tight that even people with solid incomes and excellent credit histories have a hard time getting loans. What are the chances that a poor individual will get a loan? If my friend, who has a credit score of 815, and an annual income in excess of $130K, cannot get a loan, how much more difficult do you think it is for a poor person? If the poor can’t get a loan, it doesn’t matter how cheap the foreclosed houses are. They might as well be priced at $10 billion each.

Taxes are a necessary evil. Of course it would be great if they were super low or nonexistent. But the reality is that they are needed for certain things. And SOMETIMES, taxes have to go up. Having said that, I still vehemently disagree with your implied characterization of Obama’s tax plan. It is targeted towards the middle class, for individuals making up to $200,000/year (or families making up to $250,000/year).

Quick, pop quiz… how many individuals do you know who actually make $200,000 a year or more? Very few, I bet. We all have to make painful choices whenever the country as a whole faces a crisis. Everyone has to step up, even if it means not seeing your taxes go down or (if you’re above the cutoff) seeing your taxes go up.

What we all have to remain vigilant about is ensuring that our taxes are put to the best use possible.

By the way, you contradict yourself in your second paragraph above. If, as you say, Obama wants to keep jobs here instead of shipping them overseas, how exactly will that result in, as you say, increased labor competition and salary reduction? Has the law of supply and demand suddenly been turned on its head?

And low-income housing subsidies are section 8, waiting lists for which are an arm’s length and a half long in each community.