[Mr 5 0]

Originally posted by RBatson :

I'm not misinformed, Jim. The reason home sales are up are because the interest rate is so low. People with jobs are buying houses they weren't able to afford, previously.. because of the rates. You have an opinion and find figures that you think support your claims. They don't, but you think it sounds good, I guess.

The sales figures are what they are, Rick, whether they agree with my opinion or not so please don't deny reality here because it doesn't jibe with your opinion. Mortgage rates are low, home sales are up and that's because people can afford to buy homes and qualify for mortgages, undrcutting your premise that interest rates are low because no one is buying. See how that works? Let's be honest here.

They're refinancing to take advantage of the better rate, not to get the equity out (though some do get some of the equity in the process). Consumer confidence hasn't been real great for awhile but as I said, its getting better. It appears we live in the same country but two completely different worlds.

As I said, you can't deny home sales and the fact remians that you're choosing to see everything financial in a negative light, probably due to your own financial setbacks recently. Everyone isn't having the same experience, Rick.

Mortgage rates have already started to climb. I just explained why homes are selling.

As I've already shown, the facts prove you wrong and the rates are rising, a tiny bit, from 40-year lows, so the result is minor in the cost of a home.

Now I'm getting a headache. You seem to be talking in circles. The fact of the matter is that bankruptcy is at an all time high. Although unemployment is going down, its the lower paid jobs that are on the rise.

I simply stipulated that - of course - unemployment is high and the local economy is poor in SOME areas of the country. It usually is - somewhere. You can't expect every state to be economically flush all the time. I'm attempting to be factual and you act as if I'm confusing you. Let's get real, shall we?

Bankruptcies are rising, partly due to high credit card debt among other things but if - as you claim - new jobs are mostly low-end, how is it that the median income in America keeps rising every year? That should really give you a headache! Fact is that most jobs pay well and the 'low paying new jobs' myth is a creation of Democrat politicians trying 'talk the economy down' in 2004, as they did in 1992. "The worst economy in 50 years"...according to Bill Clinton. It wasn't even close, then or now and politicians trying to make it appear so seem to have a willing audience in folks like you who think that because they have financial setbacks the whole country is going broke. Nonsense. The numbers prove that a lie.

I'm not looking for sympathy, just making a point. I didn't blame it directly on the president, the economy yes. It appears you are blaming it on the president though.

Nonsense. You're inferring - along with John Kerry, I might add, that President Bush is somehow responsible for any economic downturns and I'm opposing both that faulty premise and the lie that the economy is bad and people are going broke, or the 21st century version of going broke.

Circles I tell ya. So you are agreeing with something I already stated?

Oh boy. I stipulated that the U.S. economy HAS been in a downturn for the past three years but you claim that today - right now - it's still performing poorly. I very much disagreed with that and have shown it to be a mistaken premise with no real basis in fact. That's my point here.

I realize it fluctuates, that's the nature of the beast. While I have some in a 401k, most of my investment is in a real estate property.

At least you're realistic but if real estste is losing value for you it's poorly invested. The market is booming and values are way up from a few years ago, at least in the northeast.

I don't consider it being pessimistic or optimistic, I call it being realistic. Hey, if we didn't realize the problems that we have we would never progress.

Recognizing 'problems' is prudent but manufacturing them is foolish and unrealistic. The sharp guys see so-called 'problems' as potential opportunities.

You're right, life is a series of choices and nothing is for certain(except death and taxes). I choose the road to security. Even the secure road has its risk. Why are you still preaching about the tax rate?

Because myths about the 'rich' not paying their 'fair share' in taxes die hard and need to be shown for the fallacy and manufactured class envy they are really based on.

LOL! Catchy tune.

Er, O.K.

If they did, they were the minority.

Perhaps. I don't have a head-count.

Heeh, it can be very frustrating having a discussion with you. let me give you a quote from the president..

"These are the basic ideas that guide my tax policy: lower income taxes for all, with the greatest help for those most in need. Everyone who pays income taxes benefits — while the highest percentage tax cuts go to the lowest income Americans. I believe this is a formula for continuing the prosperity we've enjoyed, but also expanding it in ways we have yet to discover. It is an economics of inclusion. It is the agenda of a government that knows its limits and shows its heart."

Now, who benefits from the tax cuts the most?

You really need to stay away from those left-wing websites Rick, they'll rot your mind. The lowest-income Americans pay NO, repeat: NO income taxes at all. That meshes with President Bush's objectives. The top 10% of U.S. taxpayers get bigger cuts if you look at it one way, less another. Statistics are deceiving, as you should know. In fact, the top taxpayers now pay a higher percentage of their incomes in taxes then they did even ten years ago. I don't have the links handy but it's a fact. What bugs me is that folks like you (and liberal Democrats, always) are never, ever satisfied. No matter how much the wealthy pay it's never 'enough' - and that is just wrong. It stifiles investment and growth and some folks just can't see it because they simply envy the rich and want to see them 'punished' with ever-higher taxes. That smacks of socialism, as they practice it in europe and elsewhere. Obscene tax rates, little private investment, government smothering of most industry and stagnent economies meaning everyone gets less in government services every year. A mess that we don't need to emulate here in America, Rick.

I'm wondering if you work for the president, I know you are a supporter. You seem to be so much a supporter that you'll even contradict him, to support him. You speak with a forked tongue, white man. Heeh.

I don't work for the president or the Republicans. I'm a patriotic and concerned American citizen, like you. I like and support President Bush, yes, but I disagree with him on some major issues, such as immigration 'reform'. Still, on the whole, I think he's done a good job under difficult conditions with a rabid and hostile media at his heels since Day One. I usually make sense, which frustrates some liberals here and annoys those who dislike my politics and/or my religion. Too bad for them, isn't it?

You're worth responding too Rick and I try to remain civil when I do but as I frustrate you, the feeling is sometimes mutual. Still, you're posts are a good paltform for me to correct some myths and explain a few facts. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to do so but I won't keep this exchange going very much longer as I have little time to spend here and this just eats it up.

Carry on.