Pope: Catholics should ask gay people for forgiveness

[Ben Kenobi]

This man is a stupid idiot who doesn't know anything about California. California's economy was not in the "****ter".

Yes, it was in the ****ter.

You want a ****ter look at the ****ing state you live in. Texas. It's now insolvent and various towns have slid into junk bond status (meaning BANKRUPT!!!!!). The oil market went bust and took most of the state with it.

LOL

Moody's currently has CA bonds at AA3.

Moody's currently has TX bonds at AAA.

http://www.treasurer.ca.gov/ratings/current.asp

Our debt is not now "$400 billion". You believe lies peddled by anti-democrat people

San Francisco Chronicle consistently reported as one of the most liberal sources in America.

You don't even know what our budget is. We run budget surpluses. You're just too moronic to realize it. And no, it's not increasing.

Not according to the Chronicle.

[kentonio]

I await a post that actually includes the word, "c.a.t.e.c.h.i.s.m"

If you put lots of full stops in between letters, it stops being a word.

[kentonio]

If I wanted that, I wouldn't be here.

Really? I thought you being here was an attempt to double down and drive some existing Catholics out of the church?

[Bereta_Eder]

ben is the best under cover agent the anglican church ever had

[rah]

At least he's given up on his Sales tax nonsense and tried to shift our attention.

I still expected ANSWER THE QUESTION.

Of course I'm sure he searched on line for any bogus site that would back up his claim but was probably faced with too many sites that actually portray reality, Like

http://www.citylab.com/work/2015/01/how-local-sales-taxes-target-the-poor-and-widen-the-income-gap/384643/

In his State of the Union speech, President Obama will outline a plan to overhaul the federal tax code. His objective will be to reduce inequality in the tax structure, but even if these reforms are enacted, they might only help marginally, says Matthew Gardner, executive director of the Institute of Tax and Economic Policy. That's because they wouldn't address unfair tax systems at the state and local levels.

"At the state level, we're redistributing income away from poor people and giving it to rich people," says Gardner.


A new report released by ITEP illustrates just how bad the problem has become. The chart below, from the report, shows that the poorest Americans pay nearly 11 percent of their income in taxes. By comparison, the wealthiest only pay a 5.4-percent tax share.


The poorest 20 percent of the population end up paying double state tax rate as the top 1 percent. (Institute of Tax and Economic Policy)
Of the three main forms of state taxes—sales, property, and income—the sales tax hurts the poor most, says Gardner. State sales taxes are highly "regressive," he says. That is, they end up taking a bigger chunk of change from people that have smaller sums of money and slower income growth.

Let's say that a rich person and a poor person each spend $100 on taxable grocery items. This $100 expenditure—and the sales tax on that $100—both deal heavier blows on the poor person's income because it's smaller. The report backs up this hypothetical example: as a share of their income, the poor pay a 7 percent rate on sales and excise taxes, while middle-income families pay 4.7 percent rate, and the wealthy pay less than one percent, on average.


Low- and middle-income taxpayers pay a disproportionately large shares of their income as sales and excise tax. (Institute of Tax and Economic Policy)
Understandably, then, low-income Americans living in states that rely more on sales tax are worse off. In Washington State, for example, the poor pay nearly 17 percent of their income in state taxes, while the rich only pay 2.4 percent. On the other hand, in D.C. and California, more reliance on personal income taxes and better Earned Income Tax Credit policies make the tax system more equitable. (Though even there, low- and middle-income groups pay higher proportions of their comparatively smaller incomes).


Washington state has the most regressive tax policy, with the poorest paying 16.8 percent share of their income. (Institute of Tax and Economic Policy)
Giving too much weight to sales taxes isn't just bad for those living below the poverty line, it's bad for local economies. "You simply aren't going to be able to raise revenue from folks who have the least income," says Gardner. "That's a recipe for fiscal disaster."

Something that the rest of us learned in ECON 101 while he was busy masturbating.

[Bereta_Eder]

btw I prefer giancarlo california much better to dinner california. You'd think it was a wet rotten underground cellar

[Ming]

Never claimed he did. I claim you do.

Please quote where I have done so... Oh, that's right, yet again, you are just making crap up since I never said that.

All I have ever said is that Francis's message is one of love, peace, and understanding... and that Catholics should listen to his message, especially since he is the Pope.
You on the other hand have denied his message. And have claimed it goes against the teachings of the church.
One last time... where in the Church teachings does it support discrimination and a message of hate.

[Giancarlo]

Yes, it was in the ****ter.



LOL

Moody's currently has CA bonds at AA3.

Moody's currently has TX bonds at AAA.

http://www.treasurer.ca.gov/ratings/current.asp

San Francisco Chronicle consistently reported as one of the most liberal sources in America.




Not according to the Chronicle.

Yet the sources I have posted have shown otherwise. You are just too stupid to even get a response at this point.

Oh and get a newer source California's credit score was upgraded, while Texas was downgraded, moron.

That was a ****ing Op/ed piece in the Chronicle. You ****ing illiterate moron! An OPINION piece. How many times do I have to go over this for you?

[Giancarlo]

More bullcrap sources (especially that second one).

$400 billion in debt... that's nonsense.

Thanks for posting more of your stupid idiocy. KEEP IT UP dumbass!

By the way, that first article is nonsense.

http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160812005653/en/Fitch-Rates-2.7B-California-GOs-AA--Upgrades

Considering our state economy is far larger than Texas, we are on a more sound footing financially. Several major cities in Texas have been hit with major credit downgrades:

http://www.pionline.com/article/20160511/ONLINE/160519964/moodys-downgrades-fort-worth-debt-on-pension-liability-concerns

https://www.moodys.com/research/Moodys-downgrades-Houstons-TX-GOLT-to-Aa3-maintains-negative-outlook--PR_903168652

http://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Oil-Bust-Spreads-As-11-Texas-Towns-See-Credit-Downgraded.html

https://www.moodys.com/research/Moodys-places-11-Texas-local-government-ratings-under-review-for--PR_903159952

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-03-11/oil-bust-spreads-11-texas-towns-see-credit-downgraded

This is called a bust. Many parts of Texas are literally running out of money. A lack of collection of income taxes have left several areas in severe financial straits. Since the state relies heavily on property taxes, the collapse in the housing market has also put a crunch on state coffers. Texas is literally teetering towards financial ruin.

Our debt is fully manageable and we have a very high credit rating in California.

Your state has been hit with credit downgrades, while we have been upgraded.

Your economy has hit major turbulence... even by admission of your state officials:

http://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/Texas-budget-still-works-despite-economic-8414144.php

And your job growth has lagged the national average too, while we have vastly exceeded it. Of course, your comptroller will try to paint a rosy picture, but it isn't as good as he says it is. Revenues have taken a huge hit. Your state is still a one trick pony oil state.

This is the post Ben failed to respond to and the credit scores are actually quite different than what he is saying. Our credit score was upgraded, while Texas has been hit with downgrades.

Oh and he keeps going on about an Op/ed piece. For one an opinion piece does not represent the official stance of the paper. There is a reason why it is an Op/ed piece. Ben is still an obnoxious idiot.

By the way, our economic growth is now three to four times that of Texas. Oh poor Ben!

[Giancarlo]

California GDP growth (2015): +4.3%
Texas GDP growth (2015): +1.8%

We have exceeded Texas about three to four years now in growth. Texas will see its growth chopped this year... Probably very close to recessionary levels.

Sorry Ben, but you lose again.

[giblets]

At least Texas has a lower unemployment rate

[Giancarlo]

At least Texas has a lower unemployment rate

Not really the case anymore. They lost tens of thousands of jobs related to the oil crash.

Plus, many of their jobs are either seasonal or very low paying. Their poverty rate has actually gone up the past few years.

[Ben Kenobi]

Yet the sources I have posted have shown otherwise. You are just too stupid to even get a response at this point.

Then your sources are wrong. California's bonds are ranked AAA3 by moody's. Texas is AAA. Contrary to what you posted, not only is Texas not bankrupt, they are one of the best investments in the country.

[Ben Kenobi]

Really? I thought you being here was an attempt to double down and drive some existing Catholics out of the church?

There's nobody here that's a vocal Catholic, save me. This place is pretty much a wasteland.

[Giancarlo]

Then your sources are wrong. California's bonds are ranked AAA3 by moody's. Texas is AAA. Contrary to what you posted, not only is Texas not bankrupt, they are one of the best investments in the country.

My sources are not wrong and are listed above. Texas has seen big cities and towns downgraded to junk bond status because of the oil crash. Texas is no longer a wise investment (nor was it ever). I don't understand why anyone would invest in a commodity that has wild price swings. Great way to lose everything.

Texas is the American version of Nigeria in levels of incompetence and corruption.

And you still failed to respond to this:

California GDP growth (2015): +4.3%
Texas GDP growth (2015): +1.8% (and dropping)

We are leaving you in the dust once again. We are one of the fastest growing States in the country, and already have a $2.4-$2.6 trillion GDP.