This is about more than just holding elections. It’s also about what happens between elections. (Applause.) Repression can take many forms, and too many nations, even those that have elections, are plagued by problems that condemn their people to poverty. No country is going to create wealth if its leaders exploit the economy to enrich themselves — (applause) — or if police — if police can be bought off by drug traffickers. (Applause.) No business wants to invest in a place where the government skims 20 percent off the top — (applause) — or the head of the Port Authority is corrupt. No person wants to live in a society where the rule of law gives way to the rule of brutality and bribery. (Applause.) That is not democracy, that is tyranny, even if occasionally you sprinkle an election in there. And now is the time for that style of governance to end. (Applause.)
[emphasis added]
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{ 14 comments }
…. so you think Obama has the cojones to give this speech in Venezuela or Cuba?
Or Berkeley?
I’d be ecstatic if he gave that speech in DC. We may be a lot better than Venezuela and Cuba, but most businesses in this country would be delighted if our government “only” skimmed 20% off the top, and most GM bondholders would certainly like to live in a country where the rule of law doesn’t give way to the rule of political payoffs to key supporters.
Obama administration fundamental principle: “Rules for thee, but not for me”.
According to Turbotax, my effective federal income tax rate last year was 22.1%, and that doesn’t include 15.2% FICA. Then there’s 1.5% local and 3.1% state income taxes. Plus about $3k property, 6% sales, and God only knows how much “corporate” tax passed on to me as a consumer.
And people are still moving to my part of PA because we’ve got lower taxes than MD, NJ, and NY.
A flat 20% skim off the top sounds mighty fine to me!
definitely agree that small businesses/one-man-businesses are overtaxed, but in fairness i think obama is talking about skimming 20% off the gross, not just the profits. additionally, at least there is some ROI on your taxes here, whereas in the countries obama is addressing it’s likely to be used either to build a palace or finance an army that will nationalize your industry.
zach:
Yeah, here it just goes to organizations like ACORN or ends up building airports for people like John Murtha.
I see a huge difference. Really I do.
CC,
if you don’t see a huge difference between the US and a kleptocracy then you’re beyond hope.
Usually I think of “skimming” as taking from a business’s top line, not its bottom, i.e. the gross profits.
The difference is getting smaller every day, however. See also: GM/Chrysler Bond Holders, William Jefferson, Murtha, Abramoff, Madoff, Black Panther Poll Intimidation that is allowed without significant punishment, prosecuting politics of previous administration (okay, to be fair, AT THIS TIME, this is simply PR misdirection, but if they are serious about going after the CIA/former Vice Pres, then we are in banana republic territory)
Zach, I guess I’m beyond hope then. When it comes to people reaching into my pocket and forcing me to give them my money, I don’t really care that much if it’s because they are a corrupt kleptocrat intent on lining their own pockets, or if they are a blind ideologue hell-bent on forcing their idea of “truth” on me and distributing my money to THEIR ideological peers.
Both are immoral.
So yes, i do compare “Cap and Trade” to “Bribe the local Mayor to get your energy.” Frankly I don’t see much difference between the two.
Also when the government can suspend legal contractual obligations to pursue an ideology, the same holds true. You may think there’s a difference because you share an ideology with the thieves. If it was Republicans taking your money to build churches, I think you’d have a much different view of things.
Zach, actually the more I think about it, the more I think “kleptocracy” is a fair description of American government these days. And I don’t think it started with Obama, but he is accelerating it dramatically. When I see John Murtha’s airport, an airport that was not needed, is not used and is maintained strictly due to John Murtha’s feeding at the pork trough, I have to honestly say, how is that different from a third world despot stealing money from the peasants to build a park in his honor?
Tax money going to ACORN is exactly what you’d see in a banana republic.
I think it is a fair and rational statement to say that a Congress that passes an 800 billion dollar spending bill UNREAD is logically equivalent to a congress that rubber stamps a dictator’s requests.
I’ve said a couple of times that Obama’s policies are turning this nation into a banana republic. I should be fair and say we’ve been heading in that direction a long time.
CC,
sorry but that is the hugest load of BS I have heard you say in quite some time. the difference between the US and a kleptocracy is that if you don’t like where the money is going you can VOTE TO CHANGE IT. or even better RUN FOR OFFICE. if you have a problem with government taxation then i think your SOL.
btw ACORN does not directly receive federal dollars, and Murtha’s airport has little going in its favor but Murtha’s justification is at least plausible – that his district is hard-hit by the decline in american manufacturing, but to encourage business to invest you must first have an infrastructure to support it (i.e. an airport?). don’t agree with it, but at least it can be argued on the merits, fundamentally different than a palace. at least you can use the airport.
zach:
OK, you called me out on BS and I’ll have to admit you’re right. I was engaging in a bit too much hyperbole.
However, my concerns are real and I do think our elected representatives act in ways that demonstrate absolute disdain for the average citizen. And Murtha’s airport is something that should shock everyone in this country, and the fact that it doesn’t is not a good sign for our future.
By the way, I didn’t compare the airport to a palace, I compared it to a park, which could easily be justified in the same way as the airport. In fact if I wanted to, I could justify a palace using many of the same arguments.
If ACORN isn’t receiving federal dollars directly from the bailout bill, it’s only because of some disingenuous misdirection. Everyone knows it’s going to ACORN.
i am not shocked by the airport any more than i am shocked by the bridge to nowhere – which is to say not at all. on some level i think it’s appropriate for legislators to have some direct say in where money is directed, though of course they won’t always make excellent decisions. i know i’m in the minority on this but i don’t believe all pork is bad.
saying “everyone knows” is not an argument, to me. if you have specific instances where ACORN has received money that you don’t believe it deserved then let’s talk about those. i admit to not having done an exhaustive search on the subject, but a cursory didn’t turn up anything that tripped my alarms – maybe that’s a fault with my wiring?
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