Spot quiz: Name one Republican policy in the past 8 years that's made your life better

[depakid]

Briefly tell us how and why.

[uponit7771]

1. What if you hate yourself? :-)

[Forkboy]

2. I'm stumped.

[Texas Hill Country]

3. Dubya has actually done really well on Aids in Africa?

[RaleighNCDUer]

18. It's not his fault, after all, if only 10% of the promised money has

actually been appropriated.

[gateley]

4. .....

:popcorn:

[smoogatz]

5. The "Do Not Call" list.

It's probably not really a Republican policy, but Bush did actually sign it into law. Other than that, nada.

[MattNC]

26. haha

I was thinking the exact same thing when I saw the thread title.

[question everything]

6. Like many, I like to have more money and pay less taxes

including capital gain taxes.

This does not mean that I do not see the need for raising taxes to pay for all the public programs that I support.

And this, of course, is the difference between liberals and conservatives. We do vote against our pocketbooks interest.

[depakid]

8. Good argument

How does it work out when you do the balance sheets?

[Deep13]

13. I see it as in favor of all of our interests including those not apparent ...

...on a balance sheet. A better world is a better world even if there is no profit in it, but as it happens there is profit in it.

[depakid]

21. Understood

Yet doing taxes and stuff at the last minute, makes a person think about things.

[Deep13]

32. Oh sure. I'm not trying to be critical.

:-)

[DB1]

27. I make more money, pay more tax,( less fed tax) but quality of life has dropped....

I pay more tax at store, at the pump, to the state to compensate for Bushco tax cuts.
Quality of life both economically and on the civic front are worse. People are not as happy. Schools are stressed, workers are stressed. The country currently has no leader. A bad leader is better than no leader. Bush lead us once, and that was when he lied the majority into a bogus war.
So no, can't think of anything, wish I could.

[democrattotheend]

7. I guess Bush deserves credit for signing the "Do Not Call" law

I remember a bunch of us here said it was the first good bill he'd signed. And to this date it's just about the only one I remember.

[Hepburn]

9. He made the Barney vids and my Scottie Mags just loves them!

Honestly...some people do not believe me until they see if for themselves, but the dang Scottie I have sits on my lap and whines and cries at Barney when I play them on YouTube for her. When Barney walks out of the picture, she looks behind my monitor to see if she can find him. It is one of the cutest things ever!

Can't think of anything else tho....:hi:

[Deep13]

10. **chirp***chirp***chirp**

I was going to say the Federal bribe, er, I mean tax cut because with my wife we actually did save money on taxes. On the other hand, pretty sure that savings has been eliminated by the drop in the value of the dollar, the increase in health care costs, the decline in sales at my wife's business, $3.40/gal. gasoline and the increase in local taxes.

[flor de jasmim]

11. ...still ruminating.... still.... still.... NOPE, not a one... nary a one...

[NDambi]

12. In one area only...the tax cuts really helped me in financial areas..I've done very well..but

I don't agree or like Bush or his policies.

[dmallind]

14. short term OK?

Heck my income taxes have gone down in last eight years. It's screwing the economy over the long haul, but I can't deny that this is to my short term advantage.

[redqueen]

15. Has it made your life better?

On balance...

[dmallind]

23. On balance with what?

I mean we guess what effect a more sensible fiscal policy might have had on gas prices, currency exchange rates etc but there's not a lot we can do objectively to quantify that. The biggest impact I would foresee is more long term and based on deficit spending so no discrete impact just yet there

Has Bush on balance overall made my life better? Surely I don't even have to answer that but if I do a resounding "hell no" springs to mind. However if we look at the tax cut as a discrete act I would have to say yes that act has made my life better to date, because long term impacts from deficit spending have not directly impacted me yet. And it would be a stretch to see that they would have impacted too many people yet again on a discrete basis from those specific tax cuts.

Agsin I'm trying to answer a specific question about personal impact at this time. I do not approve of this policy in the bigger picture or long term at all, so don't think I'm defending it. If they exempted all males between 40 and 45 who were under 6'2 but over 275lbs and who had a full head of hair from paying all taxes it would benefit me greatly, but still be a damn stupid idea.

[redqueen]

24. The specific question was has it made your life BETTER.

You seemed to be saying those lower taxes were good... I was only trying to get you to finish answering the question.

[dmallind]

28. Why would it not?

I mean call me a greedy bloodsucking cpaitalist if you like but yes more net income makes my life better, again taken as a short term and specific to me statement. Would it not make most people's lives better to have more net income - again on that short term and specific basis? To say it would not would posit someone who would refuse a substantial sum of money offered to them.

Again I have a feeling you're trying to set me up here and I don't know how much clearer I can be. It's bad long term,. It's bad fiscal policy. But it has made my life better in the last eight years in the one specific area of having more money. I'd be more than happy to go back to paying Clinton level taxes to get the balanced budget we had at the time, but that would make my life worse in the same area and over the same short time frame. It would help long term, and it's sound policy, but I would have less money over the short term. I suport that not because I am masochistic, or even all that noble and selfless, but because it's better long term for the whole economy of which I am a part.

Bush's economic impact I'm sad to say has only just started being felt. We will deal long and hard with his massively expanded debt. My short term advantage (yes that means making that part of my life better) is not worth that, but it has happened and it would be intellectual dishonesty (and transparent self-glorification) to say I do not consider having more money to be better than having less.

[redqueen]

29. Uh no... not trying to 'set you up'.

Don't know why you're being so defensive... was only trying to get a full answer.

I'm fucking sorry I asked now though, believe me.

[dmallind]

33. What part did you not get before?

That having more money makes most people's lives better? That it's only in the short term and bad policy?

Why I'm being so defensive? Because I'm pushed in internet shouting to explain why more net income means better for me concerning a question which forced respondents to say something good at least in limited and specific terms about DU enemy number 1 (sorry number 2 - Hillary has number 1 status lately) maybe?

[redqueen]

34. "pushed in internet shouting"

:wtf:

Fucking hell. Get help. Seriously.

[redqueen]

16. I guess the Do Not Call list...

Not sure if that's a GOP thing, though...

:shrug:

[chknltl]

17. Well they have pretty much made it easier for me....

...to win debates against republican supporters. "So how's that War in Iraq workin out for ya?" or "Still believe that Saddam Hussein was a martyr with intentions of using WMD against yer local mall?" or, "Know any teachers who are screaming praises for 'No Child Left Behind'?" or, "Isn't it nice to see how the bush policies have united America?" or "Still want to see your Social Security privatized, maybe by Bear and Stearns?" and etc.

[Lost-in-FL]

19. Bigger tax returns... n/t

[hfojvt]

20. I have saved something like $1200 from the Bush tax cuts

That's for the whole seven years. But I cannot really say that that $1200 has made any impact on my life at all. While Bush himself has saved maybe $400,000 from the Bush tax cuts. $400,000 would make a huge impact on my life, but has probably not impacted his life at all either. At least not significantly, like ooh, now he's worth 9.4 million instead of just 8.5. Does that really make a big difference?

[AllentownJake]

22. I like it

When they desperately try to appease the masses by giving us a couple hundred dollars every few years :-)

[Perry Logan]

25. The last eight years have been a satirist's dream. Otherwise, complete catastrophe.

[depakid]

30. Cuious

Now, what is it that we can all do.

[nels25]

31. He lifted the hiring freeze on the VA and the Civilian's working

on military installations.

During this period it allowed me to get a very positive position with the VA which will allow me to turn my 17 years USN service time into a federal retirement.

Also (though I do not know if his administration is responsible for it, I tend to doubt it) I finally got my disability rating through the VA (though I note that more than a few GOP jerks would like to find ways to jerk vets disability entirely or at least have them re-rated lower in the name of saving money. Probably they want to save money to give it to their banker friends.)

[depakid]

36. Thank you

[Jed Dilligan]

35. He scared me into bailing on the economy and going back to grad school

It's worked out pretty well.