Comments by "Coreysaurus" (@ggadguy) on "Thom Hartmann Program" channel.

  1. @ArtetlaMusique87 I agree that Republicans are corrupt. But I'd say Democrats are also corrupt as well. Ralph Nader can speak to this better than I can. I think the nature of government corrupts, since lobbyists with big bucks go to Washington to buy off representatives with PAC donations or campaign donations. That's the way Washington operates.
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  2. Exxon shouldn't get these subsidies. We should have a fair and free market instead of a corrupted one.
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  3. @TheyCallHimTheTops First off, tax cuts don't "give" money to people. People earn it, legitimately. Then once an individual or business gets income they reinvest in building more stores, hiring people and providing more services/products. This causes them to make more money to expand their business. That's the incentive. And there are many reasons why rich people become rich. It could be a love of the business, or greed, or it's like a game, or they thrive on competition, etc.
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  4. @rickbar123 Once again, I've never considered myself a tea bagger when they are completely wrong on social issues, the wars, drug policy, immigration, etc.
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  5. Did the Koch Brothers do anything illegal? No. Unfortunately, money talks. But left has billionaire George Soros. So as Arnold Schwarzenegger would say, "stop whining!"
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  6. @psgchisolm I looked up Anthony Weiner's track record and he's somewhat pro freedom on social issues and civil liberties. However, he's for the War on Drugs. And he voted for the stimulus, which I've been opposed to. I'm against the banker bailouts, TARP, etc. So in my opinion I'm not a fan. I'm more of a Ron Paul libertarian type.
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  7. Thom has been saying this over and over again. Oil isn't going up because of speculation. Most of the commodities on the CRB Index are going up like corn, wheat, soybeans, gold, silver, copper, sugar, hogs, cotton, etc. This is because of the dollar falling BIG TIME. Thom knows this because he pimps gold on his radio show like Glenn Beck. He knows the real reason, and expert economists know it, but he'd rather give you false assumptions.
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  8. @rodzmen1 And one more thing. You are right that the corporations actually control the FDA and EPA in many ways. And then when the military destroys land they have sovereign immunity, and justice will not be served. The government that has the power to do good, generally gets corrupted and has the power to do bad. And me being cynical, there's almost nothing you can do to stop them, except for vote for guys like Dennis Kucinich and Ron Paul.
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  9. @oolong2 Yes, government will most likely interfere with markets, and businesses will interfere with government. Yes, it's been that way for hundreds of years. I agree. The job of the representative is to prevent the corruption, so we the people need to elect people who do the right thing. Unfortunately, they don't do the right thing and they have their special interests. I'll respond to your other comment in a bit,
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  10. @seiferganon I actually think unions should be able to collectively bargain. I'm not opposed to it. I just think employees should be given an option not to be in a union or not. It gives people more options, and freedom, that's all.
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  11. Here are more quotes from Thomas Jefferson. "If people let government decide what foods they eat and what medicines they take, their bodies will soon be in as sorry a state as are the souls of those who live under tyranny." "Congress has not unlimited powers to provide for the general welfare, but only those specifically enumerated." The issue today is the same as it has been throughout all history, whether man shall be allowed to govern himself or be ruled by a small elite."
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  12. @celainea I know the CEOs of many corporations are WAY overpaid. This is due to the deals they make with politicians. Remember, the corporate lobbyists outnumber the politicians and they propose the regulations that favor themselves. When government grows in employment and the private sector decreases, corporations have less competition so they can jack up their prices. Unfortunately, my cynical self believes there's little we can do, since most politicians are bought off, unfortunately.
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  13. @oolong2 When I say we don't have private roads, I meant to say the majority of roads are not private. There are certainly some private roads, and even travel systems at malls, businesses, large plots of land, etc. Yes, toll roads too. In a free market, which we do not have, I bet you could pay for roads with billboard sponsorship, and not stop, just like we get with free or near free television. But it's not for me to decide. The best ideas would come to the top. I'd hate checkpoints too.
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  14. @etzel33 I'd love to hear why you think Rand Paul wants a Plutocracy because this would be news to me and millions of others.
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  15. Thom was out of line by the name calling. That doesn't do anything to help the debate. Thom knows the economy is getting worse. We just hit over 44 MILLION people on food stamps, and actual unemployment is closer to 16%. and when the government food inflation comes, it will be even harder on the poor. It has to do with BOTH parties that are hurting real economic growth. Get real, Thom.
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  16. I'm all for the freedom to protest and freedom of speech. But saying this may be a "Moammar Gadhafi moment" is quite extreme speech, Thom. Don't insinuate that Governor Walker is going to use bloody, violent force. This isn't the case. You are just angering people, Thom.
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  17. Obama's top contributors in 2008... banks and corporate media. Just like Romney! Romney/Obama... more of the same corporatism. Goldman Sachs $1,013,091 JPMorgan Chase & Co $808,799 Citigroup Inc $736,771 Time Warner $624,618 UBS AG $532,674 General Electric $529,855 US Government $513,308 Morgan Stanley $512,232
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  18. Also, if government mandates 5 weeks of vacation for each worker, and they have 11 employees. That means the employer can only afford 10 employees. Think about it. 52 weeks divided by 5 weeks vacation = about 10. So the business would need to cut one employee to pay for the vacation time for the 10 others. Then the 10 workers need to pay more in taxes for the guy who is unemployed. It doesn't work. Things always need to be negotiated.
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  19. @noldorian86 The stimulus was supposed to create jobs, but we actually lost jobs, we have more people receiving food stamps (44 million) and we have 17% real unemployment or underemployment. The Bush government tried to encourage housing, but that backfired, and the government has tried to create jobs with various bills but that backfired. "Cash for Clunkers" only made cars more expensive for the poor. Government can only destroy wealth. Ron Paul explains: watch?v=B6925PGo04E
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  20. @j0hnwi11iams I like what Ron Paul advocates and that is simply to let people use silver and gold in commerce legally. You don't have to use it. Keep using your paper dollars, but I'd like to use money with value instead of paper. Right now you can't use metals without tax penalties. A gold standard is what we need more than ever. Sincere question here... why would the government stop paying interest on the national debt? Wouldn't this destroy our relationships with creditor nations?
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  21. 6:03 I like Bernie, and agree that The Walton Family are extremely rich. But if they receive the $32.7 billion dollars that's enough of an incentive to keep operations here in America. And how many new jobs does that fund? How many families does it feed? How many new stores open up? I know there are many Walmart haters, and I'm not a fan either, here's a video on the positive side of Walmart. Penn & Teller's Bullshit - Watch segments 1 - 4 youtube . com/watch?v=Y-o1fj1rX7A
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  22. Here's a video of the idiocy of Bernie Sanders advocating all products in the Smithsonian be built in America. youtube.com/watch?v=J0twuU6aUj4
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  23. @youngbuck189 In the past, companies gave pensions, and with no Federal income tax people could save for their own retirements, and commonly gave money to their children. Now companies can no longer afford the pensions due to regulations and taxes, there's an income tax which makes it more difficult to save for retirement, and the value of the dollar has been falling for decades which lowers the standard of living for the elderly that saved. Government is preventing seniors a better life.
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  24. All you hear from Bernie is CUTS, CUTS, CUTS, CUTS, CUTS from the Republicans, but the truth is that their budget actually increases spending. It's a total WWE fake scam between the left and right. The truth is that the Federal Reserve will just print the money to fund the wars and welfare state until the dollar is worthless. WAKE UP PEOPLE! Food prices, gasoline, commodities are all going up due to money printing by the Fed, and government will be to blame.
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  25. @oolong2 The amount of money is totally relevant. Because the government uses that money for what they want to spend it on versus you. Maybe you believe a local charity needs more money, but instead that money may be diverted to something else. I'd rather have the money in the hands of the people instead of the politicians to decide. We are very powerful if we can make constant, local decisions about every issue instead of waiting for Washington.
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  26. @oolong2 Yes, I understand that corporations have the controls. That's why I rail against corporate welfare, against corporate created regulations, corporate eminent domain, anything where the government is compromised by corporations. Libertarians are against the legal protections of a corporation. Conservatives are the ones that don't understand. They believe corporations are free market, but they are clueless. Yes, 100% pure free markets don't exist, but you can try to get more freedom.
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  27. @rickbar123 The cost of living in those countries is very low. It's all very relative. Shutting off the border isn't going to magically help us, in fact it will make things dramatically worse. Products we don't typically produce in America like cocoa, coffee, bananas, oil would all cost more to reproduce instead of import. However, some goods are better produced locally at a lower cost. Ron Paul has good reasoning on why protectionism is bad for our economy. watch?v=riOPrMnWttQ
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  28. I am for REMOVING their power, by REMOVING their tax breaks, loopholes, bailouts, stimulus, subsidies, etc. Washington is just a gigantic pig with piglets sucking at any tit they can suckle. If you remove the pig the companies have to fend for themselves. They have to earn money by earning business, fair transactions, etc. instead of going to Washington DC to lobby Congress while you work a job away from Congress. It's not how the Republic should operate.
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  29. @hollywoodt00 The definition of a troll is: "someone who posts inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community, such as an online discussion forum, chat room, or blog, with the primary intent of provoking readers into an emotional response or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion." According to that definition on Wikipedia I'm not a troll, since I'm giving a counterpoint to Thom's arguments. I'm on here to discuss liberty with some very intelligent liberals.
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  30. @ 3:10 Thom, it doesn't make any sense for a business person just to throw their money around and gamble when they get a tax cut. That's juvenile, stereotypical thinking. First off, it depends on the individual, but the rich tend to invest in companies that they think could be profitable. When they invest, this helps create jobs. The fewer rich people you have in a society, the poorer your country. Just take a look at the poorest countries. The only rich people tend to be in government.
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  31. @ 7:00 Donald Trump brings "a certain dynamic" but that doesn't make him a credible candidate. EVERYONE has an opinion, including myself, but that doesn't make me a qualified candidate for President. We need to consider candidates who understand economics so we can have a dynamic economy, flourishing with jobs, and an improvement in living standards. My guy is Ron Paul.
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  32. @captcrais101 If you analyzed the voting records of every killer in America you would find people from all political angles. Do you think gang bangers are conservatives? Do you think mass murderers are conservatives like the Christian right. By the way, I am am an Athiest, for the record. By the way, Thomas Jefferson would consider himself a classical liberal, and a fine good one in my opinion. Jefferson isn't on the left or right.
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  33. After 35 years, did this guy even save any money? Or did he spend it? I can understand if you're a younger college kid having trouble since unemployment is higher for those 18-25 yrs. old. If he just saved money. He had PLENTY of time. I made only 30K for several years, but was still able to save money, while living in a nice area. Got to watch spending. At this point, I'd recommend he live with family and find odd jobs like most near retirement.
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  34. @TheClosestranger00 I just talked to a local business owner who can't hire people because of government permits, licensing, taxes and labor laws. There is a point when regulation makes it impossible to even start manufacturing. Manufacturing also takes capital, and if the government overtaxes our income and capital gains then there is less of an incentive for a business to do manufacturing. Abolish NAFTA, GATT and get out of the WTO and get back to real markets, not corporatocracy.
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  35. @Umberto2 Somalia is anarchy which is not what I advocate and they have no rule of law. Major difference. It's true Somalia had no government, but Somalia did establish government in 2004 and had elections in 2009. Previously, they went from Communism to a collapse in their system. They also went through hyperfinlation of their currency recently, massive poverty, and civil war. I don't advocate collapse, but instead gradual progress toward liberty through persuasion, democracy and peace.
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  36. TRUTH - Government grows and spends more every year, year after year, while you spend less and get laid off. The Ryan budget will also grow the debt even larger than now. Know the truth.
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  37. We can't have a job recovery without manufacturing. There are only so many service jobs. Manufacturing jobs come from capital, but when government regulates, taxes capital gains, has strict environment regulations, and interferes with markets and business, it makes it more difficult to start, for example a copper mine and employ hundreds of people. The government needs to relax laws and tax laws to get businesses to hire again in manufacturing.
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  38. @justonefirefly1 I think Thom is a very smart guy. I wouldn't call him a Communist, because it's not factually accurate, and it lessons credibility to call him that. I'd call Thom a Progressive, which I think is pretty fair.
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  39. Bottom line guys is that unemployment is up ever since the Bush/Obama stimulus plans. All of this "stimulus" goes to corporate special interest and not you. The fact is unemployment is way up. The government doesn't even count people after a certain period of time because they consider them no longer looking for work. They also don't count unemployed. The more accurate unemployment is around 15-18%. And food stamp use is at an all time high. Nice try propagandists!
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  40. @rodzmen1 I think my point is that, it's good to have a "plan B" because the government work may not always be there. In fact, in life there are no guarantees. By the way, the corporations are not leaving any time soon. The corporations are like the bad guys in the WWE, we vote for the good guys (Politicians), but the dirty truth is that their best friends and do business together. We are just spectators.
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  41. @MaryJesusJoseph Why not look at the candidate as individuals? Painting a broad brush on all Republicans saying they are idiots shows your lack of intelligence. You should be able to judge each one. For example, I think Michelle Bachman is kind of an idiot, especially when she got her facts wrong, but I do think Rick Santorum seems like a smart guy. I just disagree with him a lot. And for the record, I don't want a nuclear "button". I'd remove that power immediately.
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  42. @ApemanD Who determines who to limit the speech? Would you like more GW Bush free speech zones, or maybe more FCC powers, or more Internet Censorship? It's a slippery slope to say these people can have their freedom of speech and these others can't. It just shows your lack or principle. If you don't like cigarettes, you have the freedom of speech to tell others about the dangers or create your own campaign. Thom does want an anti-smoking message, when government should be neutral.
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  43. Thom loves to bring up a quote from the Founders: "Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." But he is never consistent on the issue when he wants to give up freedom of speech, even if you don't like tobacco companies. I don't smoke, and it's an awful, disgusting habit, but it's none of Thom's business to tell people what to do with their bodies.
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  44. @hollywoodt00 What party am I in? I've been an Independent ever since Ross Perot ran. I voted for Independent Jesse Ventura. I voted for Democrats, Libertarians, Republicans, Constitution Party Candidates, or anybody who will follow the Constitution. I obey the Constitution before any political party. All you support is the corporate fascist Democrats who continue the looting with the Republicans and Banksters.
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  45. @disrxt Fascism is an old philosophy once called "Actual Idealism" philosophy was the philosophy of Julius Caesar, Alexander the Great, Charlemagne, Napoleon and even the Roman Empire, just to name a few before TJs time. They just didn't use the term. Again, it's all out on Wikipedia.
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  46. @CLAUDIUSMESALINA More government regulation never works. Period. Any time a regulation seems to raise a standard, across the board, it hurts people and actually causes unemployment. A business still needs to pay workers for their time off and may not be able to hire the other works, OR what I think is more likely, is that businesses just pay all the workers less, because they need to keep their business operating while people are on vacation.
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  47. @judyleasugar97 The wealthy can't remain wealthy without government. We need to elect people who will no longer give corporations any money, power or regulations that favor them. Then let them fall or prosper only on their merits and the services or goods they provide. Here was a good video on why Ralph Nader, Kucinich and Ron Paul need to band together to fight against one thing. Corporatism and fascism. watch?v=QLdcB0ln9t8
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  48. The definition of a troll is: "someone who posts inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community, such as an online discussion forum, chat room, or blog, with the primary intent of provoking readers into an emotional response or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion." According to that definition on Wikipedia I'm not a troll, since I'm giving a counterpoint to Thom's arguments. I'm on here to discuss liberty with some very intelligent liberals.
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  49. Thom mentioned that the FDA has had cuts. According to the FDA dot gov site the FDA budget was 2.1 bill in 2008. The 2011 budget is 4 billion. It's out there for everyone to see. Again, more disinformation from Thom. Maybe the FDA isn't working if 50 million people are still getting sick from food. Or at the very least they aren't doing a good job.
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  50. @hollywoodt00 The real financial terrorists are the ones who created the bailouts to Wall Street. Plus, Wall Street is also at fault. I'm a middle-class, midwestern worker who is against getting a free lunch, and that includes the "big dogs" as you say.
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