wasn’t the 47% comment more about those relying on gov’t programs? i don’t believe it was the % of Americans not paying income taxes.
Romney’s message was jumbled, but indeed, 47% of households do not pay any federal income tax. Actually, it was more like 46% in 2011.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2012/09/18/who-doesnt-pay-taxes-in-charts/
Oh, that 47%. Now that the election’s past I thought we could forget about them.
Plus it looks as though the above diagram was as of 2008, and the unemployment rate defintely was higher post 2008, which is likely where Romney was basing his data. So the number of people collecting unemployment rose after 2008, the amount of people qualifying for Medicaid was higher post 2008, etc.
Regarding the states…
What new ideas do they have? I do think splitting the country into two parts, and letting half try a new experiment is an interesting idea. The current tired old ways aren’t working and aren’t going to work either.
But I doubt the states in question have any new ideas. Right? They would just 1) split off, 2) do the same old, 3) get the same results.
We need people who are capable of thinking like our founders, and “found” something new.
^ Texas has long had a nationalist movement and I actually think they could survive on their own quite nicely. They have a coast and are comparable to Australia in popluation and the size of their economy (economy is also similar in size to India and Canada). They would also be able to produce their own food and energy. Fresh water supply could be problematic though.
On topic:
“President Obama won last Tuesday’s presidential election, and not surprisingly conservatives are not happy about it. Those most upset, evidently believing the American Civil War did not settle the issue, have now started a new secessionist movement. These strongest movements can be found in Texas,where over 25,000 people have now submitted a petition to the White House asking to “peacefully secede.” Other states dominated by Republicans, like Mississippi and Alabama, have also seen a revival of secessionist spirit harking back to 1800’s. However, before the Republican citizenry of these states push full scale to leave the union, they may want to consider the financial costs of their decision. On average, the states most wanting to secede also receive the most federal money per-capita…”
Wow, talk about a biased article. They spend a paragraph talking about how TX gets more money back than they send to DC in taxes and reference an article that references a study by the Tax Foundation to prove it, well through 2005 anyway. Since 2005, they cobble together some information from the IRS and the Census to prove it. In the very next paragraph though, they say TX isn’t alone in receiving more money back than they pay and reference another analysis based on the Tax Foundation study, IRS, and Census data to point out that Mississippi and Alabama get more back. Interestingly though, they fail to mention that that second analysis indicates that TX actually gets less back than it sends to DC.
Actually… this is a good point. The states that give/receive the most/least might be besides the point. This assumes that the federal tax proceeds are distributed without friction. What if each state gave the federal government $1, and then the federal government just wastes 20% of that? In that case, secession might make economic sense, even for the lowest contributing states.
Also, obviously, % of non-contributors needs to be compared to federal government spending in that state.
Of course, this must also be weighed against the benefits of the federal government - trade, defense, etc.
Secession would clearly be suicide for most states, but I honestly think TX would be just fine on their own. They have agriculture, energy, and population. They have ports, so they would be free to trade internationally. They would have to spend a bit on defense to take over the security of the Mexican border, but I think that’s not a huge burden given the size of the population, and it’s not like they would need to militarize the border with the US. Not saying it will happen, but is certainly doable.
BTW, they were closing in on 100,000 signatures as of this morning.
Yeah, TX and Alaska are the only states that could thrive by themselves. That article doesn’t mean anything. TX and the US government can send all the money back and forth they want. Fact is TX (and Alaska) sit on real money. They can change their oil in for paper anytime they need.
I’d give Nevada even odds too. They could turn into an inland-island hedonistic paradise (to an even greater degree) and survive on tourism.
I think… if Texas became an independent country, illegal immigrants would start going to Arizona…
what about currency?
Nevada can’t feed itself and would not be able to trade directly with anyone except the US. If US govt. made Nevada the next Cuba, it would collapse in under a year.
If the entire EU can drop national currencies and go to the Euro (well except for you elitists in the UK), TX could drop the dollar and create its own currency.
Or… they could just use the dollar, like Ecuador.
and who would be pictured on cash? old man Benji ?
Stephen F. Austin
Sam Houston
Jane Long
Beyonce
Meat Loaf
I was thinking George HW Bush.
homer…simpson