The Economy's Lasting Impact on Your Retirement

I share most of the sentiments above Where I part company with my fellow VA resident is the idea that our government is doing this to us, as if it is no fault of our own. As Pogo once said "We have met the enemy and he is us." There have been many congressmen in the past who crossed the aisle to provide leadership in times of crisis, including John Warner. These people who put patriotism ahead of party are being hounded out of office by their own parties, especially on the Republican side by so-called Tea Party constituents. There is a huge increase in fear and greed that politicians exploit. Jimmy Carter was the last President who tried to convince us to sacrifice, in small ways, to benefit our country. then came Reagan and the era of more and more tax cuts, leading to enormous deficits. Walter Mondale said he would need to raise some taxes and only carried two states. George Bush (the competent one) agreed to a compromise by Congress supported by both sides that raised some taxes, and lost reelection because he had said "read my lips, no new taxes." The clear winners are corporations who used to pay about the same taxes as provided by income tax and now pay a sliver, and the politicians themselves. Who in Congress today would advocate a return to pre-Reagan taxes on businesses and individuals, in order to meet our responsibility to our children and grandchildren to control deficits? No one. The fault lies, not in our stars, but in ourselves.

John Winstead of VA 12:43PM July 05, 2010