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Mason Rountree

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Everything posted by Mason Rountree

  1. Your post is self-contradictory. On the one hand, you allege what Keynesian economics supposedly stands for. You then claim that Reagan and Bush were actually Keynesians. And then conclude that Reagan and Bush weren't Keynesian at all, and, for that matter, incredulously state that Republicans weren't Keynesian even during the Roosevelt Administration. You've also repeatedly banged your head against the wall about the Gross National Debt. But you then fail to mention that Jimmy Carter with a Democratic Congress proposed budget deficits every year he was in office, including 1980 when t
  2. Contrary to your assertion, Republicans have been offering a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution on a regular basis since 1980 when Ronald Reagan became President, largely because of the deficit spending of the Carter Administration. After Reagan was elected, Senate Republicans passed a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1982, but the proposal did not achieve a 2/3 vote in the Democratic controlled House. President Reagan openly supported the balanced budget amendment. In 1995, the House under the leadership of Newt Gingrich passed a balanced budget
  3. Feelip: I've followed your posts for years on P.com and know you're not naive. I also agree with you that Ralston will likely be the Speaker come January regardless of which candidate wins the 19th District. But you can't be serious when you suggest that Speaker Ralston will not have known who supported him? He's not a vindictive person by any means but knowing who helped you reach reach that position is a distinct advantage when it comes to assignments, seniority, access, etc. That's not a scare tactic; that's a reality.
  4. It has to be a consideration for anyone who chooses to run in a particular political party; otherwise, the person could run as an independent. I understand your point, but I think it is important to know whether the person elected in the 19th District will vote for Speaker of the House - Republican David Ralston or the Democratic nominee, whoever that may be. If the answer is anything other than David Ralston, that should affect how folks vote. That would be an important question to ask both candidates for the 19th.
  5. As George Santayana once said, "those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." From the content of your posts, it is apparent that you opposed the Kemp-Roth Bill of 1981, which was enacted with bipartisan support. At that time, the top marginal tax rate was 70% and the lowest bracket was 20%. Under this bill, all rates were cut across the board by 25%-30% over three years and taxes were indexed for inflation, which was especially acute at 12.5% following the failed Carter presidency (not to mention high unemployment and almost 20% interest rates...and that when Carter st
  6. Gosh, Well Read, what happened to your Rodney King "can't-we-all-just-get-along" attitude in your other post? It is apparent that you have no genuine interest in "pulling together" and eschewing your perception of "obstructionism" based on your latter posts about revisionist history and time travel by those who dare challenge the success of the current Administration. As for your incorrect assertions about Reagan's record, let me offer the following: when Reagan took office, inflation was 12.5%. When he left office, it was 4.4%. Interest rates substantially declined after 8 years, and u
  7. Actually, when Reagan took office in 1981, the inflation rate was 12.5%, the unemployment rate was around 7%, and interest rates were in the double-digits. A year after Reagan had been in office, the unemployment rate peaked at 9.7%, after which the rate dramatically decreased over the next 8 years to around 5.5% when he left office in 1988. Much of this success is attributed to the Kemp-Roth tax cut enacted in 1981. When Obama took office, the unemployment rate was around 8%, and interest rates and the inflation rate were very low. The banking crisis was at a tipping point until TARP w
  8. Several of the comments I have read strongly suggest otherwise.
  9. Let's dispense with that Constitution thingy too. To hell with a presumption of innocence and that pesky jury trial nonsense!
  10. Whitey: If you've criticized Paulette on those issues, don't you think it would be a good idea to find out whether Will would have supported the same initiatives as Paulette? I'm surprised by your response. I would, of course, be happy to speak with Will about my questions. He is an active poster on this Board and has surely been following this thread. It seems that Will has the opportunity to respond to these questions on this thread. If not, do you have his phone number?
  11. Whitey: The sales tax analogy is just that. The point, though, is that if the cost of a good sold increases, so does the amount of sales tax that is collected, just as if the value of one's home increases, the amount of ad valorem taxes increases (assuming the millage rate remains the same). Governmental intervention affects the cost of goods sold through regulatory action and taxation. While the private market largely dictates the price paid by consumers, those prices inevitably include certain imbedded taxes, which some estimate to be 25-30% of the price paid by consumers. In other w
  12. First, I'm not your son, despite your attempt at paternalism. Second, the School Board does not reassess the FMV of property; rather, the Board of Tax Assessors does that, so your argument that the School Board directly raised taxes is invalid. You can argue that the School Board should have voted to reduce the millage rate by a sufficient percentage to offset the increased revenue caused by the higher FMV of property. But you mislead folks when you claim that the School Board voted to increase taxes if no such vote occurred. I do believe the analogy I provided to the sales tax
  13. Feeling a bit edgy? Surepip is with you on this argument. His inquiry was not in any way an attack on your post. I do not agree with your supposed "deductive reasoning", BTW. Using your argument (and one I have proposed to Surepip as well), you could likewise argue that the local governmental entities raised your sales taxes as well if an item costs more today than it did yesterday. For instance, if a gallon of milk cost $3.00 yesterday, you would pay a sales tax of 21 cents in Paulding. If that same gallon of milk goes up in price to $4.00 tomorrow, you would pay a sales tax of 28 cents
  14. Whitey: Then criticize her and others for not voting to cut taxes. Maybe that's a legitimate issue, maybe not. But voting to accept a budget that is required to use assessments by an independent entity in calculating the tax digest is not a vote to increase taxes.
  15. I understand the law provides that governmental entities must provide notice of a tax increase. That is different than saying that a particular elected official VOTED to increse taxes. The increased amount of taxes (assuming the millage rate remained the same) would be caused by higher property values, not by the proactive action of the governmental entity to increase the rate of taxes on the value.
  16. This isn't about Reps vs. Dems at all. Some have repeatedly stated on here that the the School Board (and other governmental units) VOTED for a tax increase simply because the tax digest was higher one year versus the prior year, even if the millage rate stayed the same or even decreased. This is false. I would agree that voting to increase the millage rate is a vote for a tax increase, just as voting for a reduction in the millage rate is a vote for a tax cut (although not politically advisable to take credit for if a HO's tax bill went up despite the millage cut). One's political party i
  17. That is my recollection as to your general opposition to tax increases (and I whole-heartedly support you), although I cannot remember specific tax proposals. What makes you think Will Avery would have opposed them as well? As for the "group", I'm not sure what you are referring to. I had support from most, if not all, School Board members, particularly because of my residence in Paulding. I did not have support from Howard Maxwell after Heath got into the race, though, and he was a former School Board member.
  18. So is it fair to say that you opposed what you claim were tax increases while Paulette was on the School Board? Where does the Democrat stand?
  19. Bob Barr does not consider himself a Republican any longer, much less a conservative. In fact, he ran for US President as the Libertarian Candidate in 2008 - not exactly a darling of the conservative movement. He also currently practices criminal defense law in GA. I understand your point in a later post of this thread that it should be the substance of the article and not the credentials of the writer; however, Bob Barr receives significant print coverage because of his credentials and current/former associations, not because his ideas are original. They certainly are persuasive, though.
  20. No, I am not kidding. I never said I would be happier paying more and have the millage rate cut than paying less with a millage rate increase. My point is that some have suggested that the BOC VOTED for a tax increase by not voting to decrease the millage rate to keep the tax digest equal to or less than the prior year's tax digest. That is not correct. No such vote occurred to increase taxes. You can argue that the BOC did not vote to reduce taxes, but it is incorrect to say that they voted to increase our taxes when no such vote ever took place. Those that take such a position tha
  21. I know we previously discussed this issue in another thread. Voting to increase the millage rate which results in a total tax digest less than last year's is not a vote to cut taxes. It's a tax increase. Likewise, simply because the BOC did not vote to reduce the millage rate to keep the tax digest at the same one year as the previous year is not a vote to increase taxes, as has been suggested. I get the argument that Georgia law requires notification of a tax increase when the tax digest is higher one year than the prior even if the BOC voted to reduce the millage rate or it remained the s
  22. $1,200.00...yes, you read that correctly.
  23. Hey VIMH: it's only one penny; maybe we should go for two pennies instead since it's the panacea for all of our budget woes.
  24. What happened to the other thread on the SPLOST? It looks like it just disappeared. Did I miss something?
  25. It is actually not required that a campaign (or a third party who sent the mailer) have their name on the literature, so it seems pretty stupid for the campaign to put it on the literature in an effort to camouflage it. Either put it on the literature without trying to hide it or don't put it on.
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