ODUMBA

By rlitman (***)

Date 06-14-2011 17:07

Hummm, have you forgotten what country Puerto Rico is in ?!?
That would be called Federal aid, not US aid, since Puerto Rico is in the US!

By ssbn727 (*****)

Date 06-14-2011 17:54 Edited 06-14-2011 18:32

Thank you! Some people just don't get it :wink:

What is Puerto Rico? A US Commonwealth, which makes it a US territory with it's people born as US Citizens. :cool:

Quote from Night At The Museum: "DUMB-DUMB NEED SOME GUM_GUM!!!"
Respectfully,
Henry

By Mikeqc1 (****)

Date 06-14-2011 19:15

right, but do they put into the system they are taking from??????hmmmmmmmmmm?

By rlitman (***)

Date 06-14-2011 19:28

Well lets see, they're taxed by the IRS just like us, but don't have any representation in congress or the ability to vote for the president (since only states have members in the electoral college). Yup, they must be lousy moochers. Just like the people from Washington DC.
Really, are you people serious? What's with the blatent racism?

By ssbn727 (*****)

Date 06-14-2011 19:47 Edited 06-14-2011 20:08

Hello again Robert.

It's more a sublime, coded type of racism that unfortunately is practiced in here mainly due to both the obvious lack of knowledge of the facts, and unadulterated pure ignorance which is also practiced in here at times by some. :sad:

- but true nonetheless my friend.

Oh well... I still pray for them no matter how long some folks keep thinking that: "It can only be right if it's only white. :confused:

"
Tolerance is after all - a two way street in here. :wink:

Respectfully,
Henry

By rlitman (***)

Date 06-14-2011 20:02

Well said.

By Lawrence (*****)

Date 06-14-2011 22:31 Edited 06-14-2011 22:37

I think Puerto Rico needs to go all the way to statehood or decide to take the route of the Phillipines. Ironically Theodore Roosevelt had a strong hand in U.S. ... um acquisition??? of both of these island/s.

All in or all out. (I would like all in)

Sadly, I don't think the population of Puerto Rico will have much say in their own Soverignty/Statehood. Lots of talk every 4 years but never any progress toward statehood.

The *silent partner* routine is what breeds the Xenophobia. My opinion is that it's probably more a case of ignorant nationalisim than it is a case of racisim. But neither serve the Puerto Ricans.

Edit:
FYI

"Puerto Rico

is classified by the U.S. government as an independent taxation authority by mutual agreement with the U.S. Congress. A common misconception is that residents of Puerto Rico do not have to pay federal taxes. Residents of the island pay federal taxes (import/export taxes, federal commodity taxes, social security taxes, etc.) and some even pay federal income taxes (Puerto Rico residents who are federal employees, or who do business with the federal government, Puerto Rico-based corporations that intend to send funds to the U.S., etc). While most residents of the island do not pay federal income tax, they do pay federal payroll taxes (Social Security and Medicare), as well as Puerto Rico income taxes. In addition, because the cutoff point for income taxation is lower than that of the IRS code, and because the per-capita income in Puerto Rico is much lower than the average per-capita income on the mainland, more Puerto Rico residents pay income taxes to the local taxation authority than if the IRS code were applied to the island. Puerto Rico residents are eligible for Social Security benefits upon retirement. Puerto Rico is excluded from Supplemental Security Income (SSI). Puerto Rico receives less than 15% of the Medicaid funding it would be allotted as a state."

Read more: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Do_Puerto_Ricans_pay_US_income_tax#ixzz1PICGnicl

By Mikeqc1 (****)

Date 06-15-2011 16:20

http://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc901.html

No fed income on money earned in the comonwealth
who do you think is right wilkipedia or the IRS?

By Lawrence (*****)

Date 06-16-2011 12:14

Your such a bloody cynic Mike.

If you would actually read the post before you ran off for your top level research, you would note that my post from Wiki is in agreement.. Commonwealth folks do not pay fed income... They do pay SSI etc.

So you go on hating Puerto Ricans Mike. Like they have ever had any choice in the matter of their national soverignty.. What a rube.

By Mikeqc1 (****)

Date 06-16-2011 13:45 Edited 06-16-2011 14:07

No im not
I looked into it and found that I was wrong about the subject.
did not know so many were so critical and quick to judge.

By Lawrence (*****)

Date 06-16-2011 15:14

Not so many,

Just me :)

By Mikeqc1 (****)

Date 06-16-2011 15:57

see cuz i dont always like her but i never HATE my wife and always love her

By Joseph P. Kane (****)

Date 06-14-2011 22:28

No! No federal taxes.

By Tyler1970 (***)

Date 06-14-2011 23:45

They can't vote for us president.

By joe pirie (***)

Date 06-15-2011 01:04

i wasnt being racist i was only stating that the people here in the USA
need help like Joplin after the devastating tornadoes. Instead our president
is down in puerto rico for the sole purpose of getting votes from the puerto rican
people who actually live in the 50 states. he's the first president to visit puerto rico in
50 years so if it's not for votes, why don't you educate my racist ass as to what his true agenda is!

By ssbn727 (*****)

Date 06-15-2011 02:50

His true agenda Joe is obvious... He wants to cover his bases or "buttocks" as he goes through the process of running for re-election as your President of the United States...
You know, as your Commander in Chief which he currently is. :wink:

Before it's all said and done, all of the politicians who are currently running for President will be engaging in similar strategies all across the USA in order to achieve their final goal...
To out "promise" their opponents enough to get the majority of their party, and then the electoral college to vote them in as the next President of These United States.
It's just another round of Presidential politics Joe. :wink:

Btw, if you would have framed your initial post in a similar manner to which you framed your last response, the context of your original post would not have been interpreted in the way it initially was... So thank you for clarifying your opinion on this topic. :cool:

Respectfully,
Henry

By rlitman (***)

Date 06-15-2011 04:35

> people here in the USA need help like Joplin after the devastating tornadoes. Instead our president
> is down in puerto rico for the sole purpose of getting votes from the puerto rican
> people who actually live in the 50 states. he's the first president to visit puerto rico in
> 50 years so if it's not for votes . . .

So sue him. He's got an election coming up, and you're complaining about a 4 hour stopover. After all, he did visit Joplin first.
Lets face it, at the next election, he'll be a candidate, just like any other candidate (incumbent or not), and still has to get votes to stay in office another term if he doesn't want to be in the club of one-time presidents. If you're faulting him for trying to get votes in a way that the last 8 presidents overlooked, then I only have one way of seeing it.
If you seriously believe what you just wrote, then I'm sure you'll find fault in every other candidate for president who DIDN'T visit Joplin. Newt and Sarah were after all, too busy garnering votes to make a stopover on their tours. But I guess that's ok, because they were vying for votes from "real" Americans?

By joe pirie (***)

Date 06-15-2011 12:29

How much of our taxp[ayers money did his little jaunt to Puerto Rico
cost. If he was doing what he said he was going to do before thed last election
he wouldn't be worried about being reelected. Fact is he's done nothing to turn
around this country. The nationasl debt is at an alltime high, unemployment is at
all time highs yeah he's a great president lol.

By rlitman (***)

Date 06-15-2011 14:18

Wow! Did you just figure that out all by yourself? We're at an all time high in national debt?
The national debt has been at an all time high EVERY year since 1945!
I guess Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, G H W Bush, Clinton and G W Bush really had to worry about reelection JUST because of this.
John Adams made political campaign trips for the election of 1800, and every president has done so since.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics:
http://www.google.com/publicdata/explore?ds=z1ebjpgk2654c1_&met_y=unemployment_rate&tdim=true&dl=en&hl=en&q=unemployment+graph
Unemployment was higher in December of 1982 than the September 2009 peak of this recession (which we have been recovering from since).

I can respect that you don't like our president, and don't want to see him reelected. I've never been really enamored with him myself.
But, please don't use these delusional revisionist history jabs to mask your real reasoning. It just insults our intelligence and makes you sound like Sarah Palin ranting about Paul Revere's bells.

By Mikeqc1 (****)

Date 06-15-2011 14:34

You may have heard recently something about that Sarah Palin telling a reporter that Paul Revere warned the British on his famous rousing revolutionary ride.

Now, that so many Americans have wallowed in their smug confirmation that Palin is an idiot unqualified for anything but repeating sixth-grade history, how far, wide and fast do you think the contradictory news will spread that the former governor of Alaska was indeed correct?

That the Republican non-candidate, in fact, knew more about the actual facts of Revere’s midnight ride than all those idiots unknowingly revealing their own ignorance by laughing at her faux faux pas? How secretly embarrassing this must be, to be forced to face that you’re dumber than the reputed dummy.

dumb dumb dumb

By rlitman (***)

Date 06-15-2011 16:40

Well, it's a topic I wasn't going to press, but since you insist.
Here are the pertinent Palin quotes I found:
"He (Revere) who warned the British that they weren't gonna be takin' away our arms by ringing those bells, and makin' sure as he's riding his horse through town to send those warning shots and bells that we were going to be sure and we were going to be free, and we were going to be armed."

I'm going WAY out on a limb to say that that one is at all in alignment with reality. If you take it completely at face value, it makes no sense. Even if you account for historical records saying that bells and gunfire may have been used by people riding through the countryside in alerting the local militias, by Revere's own account he did not do that, and his mission was clandestine in nature, so contact with the British regulars ended his mission. Just to be clear, Revere, and the militia members he was actually alerting, WERE British themselves (just treasonous, but that's another story).

In response to her Fox news colleague Chris Wallace, she said:
"I didn't mess up about Paul Revere. Part of his ride was to warn the British that were already there. That, hey, you're not going to succeed. You're not going to take American arms. You are not going to beat our own well-armed persons, individual, private militia that we have. He did warn the British."

Well, yes, he did warn the British. I assume that by this she was referring to the British regulars, and again, by his own accounts, he told his captors at gunpoint what he had just done, but this was never his intention.

So, spin it however you like, it only digs you deeper.

By Mikeqc1 (****)

Date 06-15-2011 16:54

By ssbn727 (*****)

Date 06-15-2011 02:34

And yet they're still born as Legal US Citizens... Now tell me if that's fair?

Puerto Ricans have been historically picked upon as "second class citizens" much like the Irish first were during the development of this great nation, yet the main difference between the two ethnicities is that the Irish descendants are no longer abused in the manner that most Puerto Ricans still are today and that's a fact.

Respectfully,
Henry

By Mikeqc1 (****)

Date 06-15-2011 14:23

Everything is race with some people....its a shame....
From a person who lives there......

Im from Puerto Rico and we dont pay taxes to the US we just have a tax called a IVU that was implemented like a yr ago.

I’m insulted that you bring race into this, not every economic issue is about race....that’s a defense for the indefensible.

IRS.....says
Bona fide residents of Puerto Rico generally do not report income received from sources within Puerto Rico on their U.S. income tax return.

By ssbn727 (*****)

Date 06-15-2011 15:48 Edited 06-15-2011 16:06

Mike

Did you miss your Prozac? Or are you dumber than previously thought? Stop your trolling just to pick a fight with anyone in here who goes against your own personal preferences, or doesn't quite see things the way you do... There's only one "DUMB DUMB" here and it's not the rest of us - hint - hint. :eek:

Por favor Miguel

, no te mete en un disucion que es muy difice para comprende en tu mente. :lol:

Y si usted es Puerto Ricano de verdad, entonces usted conoce que ciduad nacio Roberto Clemente automaticamente y sin buscando...

Otro question... De que parte o ciduad nacio usted? Tu puede comprende Espanol verdad?

Enrique or to everybody else,
Henry

By Mikeqc1 (****)

Date 06-15-2011 16:07 Edited 06-15-2011 16:10

I dont pick fights just reacting to a comment.
I was calling people who cant admit they are wrong dumb.
And so now i see you think im dumb because i dont agree with you.
So now when you correct someone who is wrong and point out the truth..its trolling LOL
WOW

By Mikeqc1 (****)

Date 06-15-2011 16:28

my first statment is not correct
http://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc903.html

I was wrong dont hear the alot on the forum but ill man up.

Am i still racist?

By ssbn727 (*****)

Date 06-16-2011 01:53

I really don't know Mike yet, you're definitely different. :lol:

Seriously though, usted es borrique? Por que los questiones que te pregunto en el ultimo post no estan listo todavia con tu interpritation.

Henry o Enrique

By Mikeqc1 (****)

Date 06-16-2011 14:01 Edited 06-16-2011 14:20

i dont understand spanish.
I was adding to a thread thats all , if it seems that i upset you all i simply will not contribute.
I should have known better than to even read a thread with such a title.
I have been accused of being a cynic,racist,in need of meds, a rube ......and in the one who pre judges? how does that work?
ill tell my son i dont love him cuz the gurus of AWS said so. or my wife

By Jaxddad (**)

Date 06-16-2011 15:50 Edited 06-16-2011 15:57

Feel how you want to feel and, make sure your voice is heard! If someone gets upset about how you feel that is their issue not yours they, can simply not read it. The point is yes he can start stumping for re-election the sad part is that he is useing tax dollars we dont have to go to a place that can not vote to try to sway those that can vote. He is trying to buy his re-election with minorities since he couldn`t stand a chance to win it on his record. Yes the situation was bad when he took office and, he has done nothing but make it worse everyday that he has been in office. Anyone working in the welding industries should know that well too good by now. He has proved day in and day out that the working man and anyone that makes the American Dream come true for themself is his target. You didn`t say anything racist you used common sence and, asked the question about giving to those that give nothing back. Anyone that is working thier backside off everyday should be asking the same question. The racist card is used when someone dosent like what you said but, they can not think of a logical reason of how to argue their point.

By RonG

Date 06-16-2011 16:49

If you all will think or read back a few lines you will discover this was started by some one just wanting to show his A$$ and bad mouth someone to shield his own short comings from sight.

How in the hell do any of you know if anything any body does is worth while or not when you wont open you’re oh so prejudice minds long enough to realize you are just as much a hindrance to the recover process as any body or thing you point your finger at.

A question for Joe. Do you suppose had they not made the trip, all the people involved in the trip to Porte Rico would have just hung around the house all day and not got paid? Maybe took their family to the beach for a day? Do you think they would have leased Air Force One out to earn a little extra income. No matter what they did or where they did it, it cost you the same. Grow up!

Get real and put your feet on the ground. You can bet it cost Porte Rico more money for the visit than it did you and you sarcastic nonsense.

By Jaxddad (**)

Date 06-16-2011 16:57

At $182,000 a hour just for Air Force One not to mention the cost of the support air planes who is this costing? You missed the point. He might as well went to Mexico and had a rally to try to win the votes of all the legal and illegal mexicans. Oh wait thats next week.

By joe pirie (***)

Date 06-16-2011 19:11

Im just trying to point out he has enough problems in the 5o states to solve.
His sole purpose to go to Puerto Rico is he's worried about reelection which he should be as he hasn't
lived up to any of his campaign promises. Im tired of him and his family using our taxpayers money for his own agenda
I've been a democrat my entire adult life and i hated George W Bush with a passion . The only thing Odumba has accomplished
is he made Bush look great. Its not enough were fighting wars in IRAQ and Afghanistan now he has to go waste more taxpayers money
bombing Libya. Not to mention the covert bombings going on in Yemen costing millions more. The country is broke and this guy just keeps
spending and spending. oh don't worry though he's azssigned MIA Joe Biden to look into curbing govt waste LMAO

By ssbn727 (*****)

Date 06-17-2011 02:29 Edited 06-17-2011 03:08

#1: he is allowed to use tax dollars as the designated incumbent...

#2:The people in the island of Puerto Rico are very influential to their relatives who live in the 50 states...

#3: If Obama hadn't done what he did, we would all be eating wish sandwiches and there would be sooo many more people out of work and losing their homes... BTW, the stock market currently is at roughly 12K (11,960 something)... When Bush left, it was tumbling down to around 7K... I guess you see 12K as being worse than 7K... D you even know what market volatility means??? Hint: It is par for the course when including it towards analyzing the overall economy. :wink:

#4: It took him two years to kill Bin Laden as he promised when he was running for President...

#5: He didn't start the wars in Iraq or Afganistan, he's just finishing them honorably unlike it was done in Vietnam...

#6: Learn how to spell so you can show us some common sense. :wink:

#7: If indeed it wasn't racism, then it's just another case of one expressing their overwhelming Ignorance to seeking and understanding the facts before commenting on any topic.

EXAMPLE:

"Now our fearless leader is in puerto Rico promising US aide to help their unemployed and homeless. How bout taking care of Americans who are unemployed and homeless. i guess he figures he's gonna need the puerto rican vote."

As mentioned earlier in this thread, Puerto Ricans are BORN AMERICAN CITIZENS - CASE CLOSED!!!

#8:Hows that for "Logic." Speaking of logic, do you even know what the word means???

#9: RON G is absolutely corect! You tell 'em Ron. :wink:

#10: I'm going to echo Ron's ending by also ending with this statement: GROW UP ALREADY!!!

I could go on and on, but why waste anymore of my time and effort to do so, since you have the intellect of some lower species of life which I currently cannot conclude which one it is. :lol:

So FWIW, this has indeed been an interesting conversation nonetheless. :wink:

Henry

By Jaxddad (**)

Date 06-17-2011 10:56 Edited 06-17-2011 11:15

#1: he is allowed to use tax dollars as the designated incumbent...Yes when their is tax dollars to spend right now their is not......
#2:The people in the island of Puerto Rico are very influential to their relatives who live in the 50 states...so this is a good reason to spend money we do not have?
#3:No one knows what the economy would have done on its own. Ask one economist and they say one thing and the next say something completely different.
#4:he just happen to be the man behind the desk when the the real hero`s got the job done.
#5 When we pull out and the Extream Musslims take it back over in a matter of weeks it wont matter.
#6:If you judge a person on a few miss spelled words maybe you should think about how sad you truely are.
#7: It wasn`t Racism he simply asked a question sorry you are to closed minded to let others think for themself.
#8:Personal attack which to me and I am sure other shows who the " lower species of life" really is...

By joe pirie (***)

Date 06-17-2011 11:18

Gee so i misspelled a few words. Ron the country is puerto rico not porte rico. and yes if the president and whoever
he took to Puerto Rico had stayed in Washington they would have been paid for the day. Just like we still get paid when
circumstances arise beyond our control on jobsites. But the cost of Airforce one would not have been incurred.
Your right the president has the right to spend tax dollasrs as he sees fit. as a tax paying american i also have the
right to ***** about it if i feel the money is being wasted. Why is it when certain people on here don't like somebodies opinion
they turn it into a personal attack talk about needing to grow up. First im a racist now im stupid for voiceing my opinion.
looking at the last polls i believe im in the majority as far as how the President is doing his job

By ssbn727 (*****)

Date 06-17-2011 15:31

For crying out loud!!!

Puerto Rico is NOT a country!!! It's a United States Commonwealth Territory! Get it?

Now everything else you said can be respected to some degree by some and not at all by others,
but let's all understand the obvious facts here:

#1: Puerto Rico is NOT a country!!! It's a United States Commonwealth Territory!

#2: The people who are residents and anyone who was born there are US citizens! Get it?

#3: Whining about such stuff will get you nowhere fast. Then again everyone is guilty of doing so at one time or another including myself.
However, I don't make it such a habit as some folks I know. :grin:

Just the facts here. :wink:

Henry

By RonG

Date 06-17-2011 21:42 Edited 06-17-2011 21:53

Joe, shucks old buddy you wanted to do what? Help who? accomplish what? Oh yea you just wanted to?????

Picture this Joe; A large boat in choppy water lisping heavy to one side loaded down with people;

A very large number of unqualified people rushing to the low side to give advice on how to get it back up right.

The Captain and crew are on the other side trying to get folks to help by moving around to help distribute the load but they are not listening. They are all so busy pointing fingers, shouting worthless innuendo and in general tending to things they have no understanding of.

All I ask is that you try to do something worth the effort think for your self. But before you can do that you’ll need to acquire information for your self (on your own) then try to put your self on that boat and figure out where you really need to be standing.

The type of rhetoric you spout is much like a bunch of impotent mugs standing on a street corner bolstering their own egos by running some one else down.

I apologize for the spelling. I'm not a good or fast typist so I look at the key board when typing not the screen, also I never could spell worth a darn so I don't bother with others.

Oh yea please disregard JAXDAD. He slipped and showed his hole card months ago. His hands not that good to be criticizing.

By ssbn727 (*****)

Date 06-17-2011 15:21

What about #9 and 10???

C'mon Jaxddad you can do better than that. :wink:

Btw, is that why you no longer teach? Or is it because you were constantly shouting out:

DUMB - DUMB NEED SOME GUM - GUM!!!

These new features sure are fun to use. :wink:

Henry

By Jaxddad (**)

Date 06-17-2011 16:08 Edited 06-17-2011 16:11

I am not teaching for a few reasons. First because I went to Alaska. I started looking for work when I could no longer deal with what they where doing to students. And yes I wrote Cactus and told him he was right and I was wrong.
You still missed the point. Its not their statis its the fact that he spent so much money going to stump somewhere that has no direct effect on the election when we have so many things going on here that he could be and should be takeing care of. But that would take a leader which he has proven that he is not.
#9 and 10

Sorry I have better things to do then argue with some one that hears only what he wants to hear and knows only what he has heard.

By ssbn727 (*****)

Date 06-18-2011 03:21

Huh???

Feel better now Dwight? :razz:

Hi Ron!

I wish I could smile more, it's just that my lips can't move much being that they're made of solid rock as you can see in the picture ( I hope these emoticons will suffice in the interim). :eek:

Respectfully,
Henry

By RonG

Date 06-17-2011 21:56

By the way Henry, great picture but you need to smile more :grin:

By qcrobert (***)

Date 06-28-2011 17:56

Citizens abroad

President Obama said, “When the people of Puerto Rico make a clear decision, my administration will stand by you.” They made that clear decision in favor of commonwealth status in 1993 and again in 1998, so why keep bringing it up? Puerto Rico is the only place where a U.S. citizen can live and not be subject to federal income tax.

U.S. citizens and green-card holders who live anywhere else outside of the country are taxed by their host countries and then taxed again on that same income by the IRS as if they never left home.

Though residents of Puerto Rico can’t vote for president, they at least elect a nonvoting representative in Congress who looks out for their interests. U.S. citizens who live and work abroad aren’t covered by Medicare or eligible for food stamps or earned-income tax credit.

Roger Conklin, Palmetto Bay

Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/06/22/2279689/islands-in-the-bay.html#ixzz1QauctlbB

By Lawrence (*****)

Date 06-28-2011 19:36

Robert quotes"
" They made that clear decision in favor of commonwealth status in 1993 and again in 1998, so why keep bringing it up? "

Because commonwealth status is total BS... The days of imperialisim and forigen conquest are gone.

Not Obama's fault for sure... Not really a Republican/Democrat issue... Just slow stupid wheels of government and old ways dying hard.

I think the people of Puetro Rico need to be "all in or all out". Move Toward Statehood in the U.S. or total independence and deal with their own soverignty.

I would love for Puetro Rico to become fully integrated into the United States!

By qcrobert (***)

Date 06-28-2011 19:55

What are the benefits to mainland Americans if Puerto Rico became the 51st state?

By 99205

Date 06-28-2011 20:21

It's just a gateway to the Caribbean and other areas to the south for the U.S. military and other U.S. Agencies. Puerto Rico in general doesn't want to change their status. They get all the benefits with none of the responsibilities.

By Lawrence (*****)

Date 06-29-2011 04:20

Robert.

Not sure what the benefits would be to the mainland. I don't think this is an issue for strategic calculation.

But facts are stubborn things.. The Puerto Ricans had no vote and were not asked about benefits when the U.S. made them a commonwealth all those years ago. They had military value, much like the Phillipenes.

My opinion stands that they deserve full inclusion and entry or freedom to autonomy. But this half way game is a vestage of imperial times and should be jettisoned.

By bozaktwo1 (***)

Date 06-29-2011 17:07

Rum. Tobacco. Need there be more?

By ssbn727 (*****)

Date 06-30-2011 02:11

Not to mention the many, many Puerto Ricans that have served their country (The USA) honorably over the years as well as the ones who also have made the ultimate sacrifice in the defense of our nation... I believe they've been contributors for quite some time just on that basis alone! :yell:

Respectfully,
Henry