Peter G. Peterson Foundation

Fascism in practical terms is when the Government allows "we the people" to hold onto the illusion that we own things, while gov maintains control of of them.

The problem is that ownership is defined as having control over. Thus who ever exercises the control is the owner.

From a perspective going back some 64 years, I have to say that in comparision, yes we have become fascist.

Would the partisan hacks in this convo (you know who you are) kindly remove yourself from any association from the PPF? You are undermining the mission. Thank you.

Retirement? It is a concept that is shared equally in a socialist society . . . And in the US, the government is financially busted . . . though the majority just has not recognized it yet . . . especially those participating in the waste, fraud and abuse. . . And to think that anyone should be allowed to be 'rich'. Shameful? Perhaps to some . . . but not unlawful . . . and not unAmerican.

thinks that Afghanistan will be Obama's Viet Nam. It's his war now. Four more years of lives lost and treasure wasted. Afghanization -- hmm, this sounds familar. Where have I heard an "-ization" before ? Let me think. Oh, yeah. Viet Nam. And that worked out great. Fortunately, we have the money to pay for this. Oh, yeah. The national debt stands at... See More $12 Trillion. We can afford Universal Healthcare, too. This sounds like the 1960's again. The Viet Nam War and the Great Society sent America on the Road to Debt Perdition. What's the next stop after perdition?

GOOGLE THE CLOWARD AND-PIVEN STRATEGY
TO UNDERSTAND HEALTH CARES PURPOSE

One thing that has proved problematic to campaign-finance reform efforts is the issue of free-speech. I imagine that any major effort to reform lobbying would raise similar first amendment issues as well.

I never said being in Congress wasn't a real job. I'm just suggesting that it's not a career. (Or more accurately, that it should not be a career...)

As for moving money around not being a real job, if someone's willing to pay you to move money around, go for it.

Congresspeople are paid for by tax dollars, though, so they work for the taxpayers. And I do appreciate the notion that we don't need term limits at all for so long as there's an election. The people can have de facto term limits every time they vote.... See More

I guess when you peel the layers of the onion back, term limits (which I am still in favor of) are not the ultimate solution. What we really need is for (1) canididates to be funded by INDIVIDUALS only with a maximum contribution that doesn't put a candidate in someone's pocket, and (2) corporate lobbyists to be put out of business.

Take the money out of the equation, and the playing field becomes more or less leveled, although I do maintain that term limits will help the inevitable inertia that comes with being the incumbent.

Right, Heritage is definitely not non-partison overall, but their Norm Ornstein is the best observer of Congress I know of, and he IS non-partison. I feel a bit wary of them but their support is probably a good thing.

Sean and David, I think you both make valid points. I don't fault The Heritage Foundation for advocating a position politically. I do attribute my interest and possible full support of the Peterson Foundation for exactly the type of independent analysis that Sean in particular references.

My only concern would be that there is risk of muddying ... See Morethe message. There are more than enough “us versus them” arguments happening out there already and not enough responsible, sober, adult conversations on any given number of subjects. My opinion of course.

I was glad had the opportunity to attend the conference in Denver.

The solution to our fiscal mess is re-instating birthrights and establishing a propagating taxable income stream for an eternity. www.legacywillandtrust.com can do just that without government intervention. Legacy Will And Trust can subsidize our heirs incomes, create a taxable income stream that can be used to rebuild social security, fund ... See Morecharitable organizations, pay for socialized health care without costing our heirs and leave the world a better place. I challenge anyone with financial intelligence to disprove my theory.

I wish I could be there but stuck in the desert training, hope everyone my age and even younger pays attention to this, it is the most important situation our country faces, my buddies and I will protect the country here in the marine corps, we need all of you here at home to wake up and handle the financial crisis this country faces and we will help with that too when we are home and able to. Please spread the word.

@Kevin - the video of the events will likely be posted at http://concordcoalition.org by Monday. Guy and Chad thanks for the support.

The Documentary was great.

Will you be in Europe one day,.. pres. Tour?

Kudos to Mr. Henigen for pointing out that obesity is a symptom, not a disease.

Jordan, ~20 grams of fructose/day is unlikely to be problematic, but Americans eat an average of >80 grams/day. Nutrition journals typically have horrible quality research and editing, instead follow endocrinology journals. It's all about the hormones. Fructose causes liver dysfunction which leads to whole-body insulin resistance which over time ... See Moreturns into diabetes. Omega-6 fats also cause liver dysfunction, leading to the same outcome, as well as various other problems, eg heart disease. I do not back off of my belief that you could vastly reduce diabetes and heart disease by limiting consumption of fructose and omega-6 fats to levels consumed prior to ~1800.

Amanda!!! Check this out....you'd really get into a cause like this. It affects YOUR GENERATION!!!

I am really glad that there are other folks paying attention. I'm almost certain they are youngerpeople - and that's good because THEY are the ones really getting hosed!

If people actually had to start writing checks for their taxes, we'd see more public outcry.

When it comes to saving, you've probably heard people say, "Pay yourself first! You'll learn to live without that money when you don't even see it!"

Same goes for taxes.... See More

You earn $1,000, but you get to put your hands on maybe $600 of it, and you learn to live with that $600. But if you had to write checks -- REAL checks -- for federal/state/FICA taxes, you'd see a "tea party" the likes of which you never imagined.

Thing is, most people have no idea what the debt it, or how it's forecast to grow, or what their "share" is. I like to look at it in terms of dollars per tax-paying household -- and the number is frightening.

We really do need to get the word out -- and fast.

Here ya go: http://www.pgpf.org/blog/?storyId=29668

how about instead of hoping china will change its economy, we shift away from a consumer based one ourselves? hmm.