Buffalo Rising Online

Good look with the new business Silly. Just wait to see you sdee what your boy Obama is going to do for small business owners. Stick to being an artist "aka unemployed'" this should work better for you under the new administration.

Are they giving away the cupcakes for free? I hear that if you eat one you will be healed as well...

oh george, your so wrong, I feel sorry for you.

Chicago Democrat=crooked politician

georged=idoit

or idiot

Only 4 more years of this back and forth shit before we have to start all over again!

Zilly is example #1,240 of why I love Buffalo.

the dow loosing more than 900 points after obama's win, 500 of which on the "joyous" day after, russia setting up missles on polish border just hours after obama's speech...hm and watching CNN and MSNBC i thought the world was singing kum by ya.

georged, the extra 3 percent small business tax is only on profit above 250k. A small business that is making that much is doing fantastic. The simple solution, if that 3 percent really bothered you, would be to reinvest some money into your business to get you below the 250k threshold... which in turn would foster growth and be a benefit to our economy.

The big benefit would be his creation of a low cost national health care co-op/exchange and refundable credits of up to half on premiums paid on behalf of employees. If small businesses truly are the drivers of our economy then access to affordable health care would go a long way towards helping them recruit more innovative workers.

I usually lean to the right on money issues, but his small biz plan seems sensible and that whole joe the plumber thing was created for people who don't bother to do a bit of research and take everything at face value.

I guess we have two different perspectives of what small business are James. People start businesses so that they can free them selves from the reigns of controlled salary and make more $$ based on their own sweat and ingenuity. A business owner who is looking at making anything less than $250,000 is destined for failure. My gues is that you have never had your own business if you think that 250K is doing unbelievablly well.

Bottom line is in a free market the govt. shouldn't be taking more $$ from those that are pouring their own $ and sweat into a business, while the lazy collect handouts. Pretty un-American to me. Go after coopoerate America all you want, but stay out of privately own business.

To have a business turning a $250,000 profit would mean revenues in excess of $2,000,000... of course i would consider that doing well, wouldnt you?

Maybe we do have different perspectives. See, I would consider the business owner who wants to cash out that $250,000 as being destined for failure. Reinvestment of that money into either that current business or a spin-off would not only be an easy way to avoid this 3 percent tax but would also grow the business so that one day you'd be making even more money and offering more jobs.

I dont have the facts to back myself up, but I think its safe to assume the majority of small business owners are not turning a $250,000 profit... so this really is a moot point.

jamesbflo- obamas health care plan is going to be a burden for small biz. he is going to mandate them to provide health insurance. and hes going to only pay for half of that. most small biz that make below 250,000 will not easily afford this. and those that make above 250,000 will be able to afford it. but they will be taxed more. just what we need in a recession! thats what hoover thought anyway.

and to paul buffalo... do you really think it was just complete coinsidence that the missle construction started just hours after obama was elected? he also cancelled plans to withdraw three intercontinental ballistic missile regiments from western Russia during this time.

i don 't understand how no one can trust the president and some how he is still aloud to make decisions?

what would you like him to do? i am not trying to make a point that obama cannot deal with it, i am trying to make the point that not all nations are buying into this hope and change theme like some would have you to believe.

So what happened to my posts from earlier?

Clyde, haven't you heard, if you are not a flaming liberal hippi then your comments will almost always be deleted. There is no room on this site for an alternate opinion.

mmmmm cupcakes...

buffawakening - you are dealing with a flawed style of thinking on this site. Don't beat your head. The people with real money and 401k's are too tired to try to talk sense into the tree huggers. It is coincidental that I asked PaulB the same question about Russia on another post:

11/05/2008

"PaulB, if you are such a know it all, explain to all of us why the Russians JUST POINTED THEIR MISSILES AT EUROPE TODAY....one day after Obama was elected. Please enlighten me!!!!! I bet you can not even answer that one little political question or did you even know!? Did anyone know?"

No answer -

All the hippi liberals that are expecting this grandiose "change" do not understand the flaw in their thinking.

Why would Russia point missiles at Europe hours after the election. Why was the stock market down 900 pts in the last two sessions. Does anyone on this site even know this? Does anyone care?

Please, will one of the hippis on this site step up and respond to these very important questions?? Steel, you out there buddy or are you still at the pep rally? How about taking a stab at it....

It is a dangerous world out there. Too many people playing the race card here and overlooking the real threats to our national security and financial crisis.

Platt4 and PaulB - here is a little food for thought....

The stock market is an anticipatory mechanism (always has been) which will price in an election and other financial data well in advance of the actual event/report. Did it ever occur to you that a large portion of the selling on Wall St in the last two days and this past month was a result of institutions pricing in a much anticipated Obama victory.

Now that Obama has won, instiutions are now pricing in the negative effects of Socialism on corporate earnings.

As for the Russians pointing missles at Europe hours after the elections - TRANSALATION = we think your new president is a coward so we will start a war until he shows us otherwise.

Put down the cupcakes and the bongo drums people and wake up.....

Paul - it sounds like you're sensitive to hearing blame heaped on the guy you voted for about anything and everything that happens - even when arguably they're things that might have other explanations in whole or in part.

It's sort of ironic because if I'm not mistaken you delighted in focusing as much blame as possible on that guy's predecessor for a lot of things. Little bit of Karma already. I suggest getting used to it.

You ask if McCain was elected would Russia be doing what they're doing. Fair question. Here's a rhetorical question (no answer needed). If Al Gore or John Kerry had defeated Bush in 00 or 04, would the mortgage industry meltdown-crisis not have happened? Keep in mind both Gore and Kerry supported most if not all of the policies that led up to it, as did their allies Chis Dodd, Barney Frank, and co. Very possibly it would have happened. If Kerry had won in 04, he might have just lost this recent election to Republicans because of it and been a 1-term president. But Bush won in 04 and now he'll forever get most of the blame. This is just how it works.

Every single person in this country should have health insurance. If the taxpayers arent willing to take on that burden, then the employers must. Just priced individual coverage for myself, about $4500/yr. If Obama takes care of half of that and my employer passes half of the rest onto me then they'd be in the hole for about $20/wk. I really don't see that forcing anybody to close up shop. Now factor in the discount they'd receive by buying from the healthcare exchange and maybe their burden lowers to about $10/wk. That $10 is tax deductible of course, so what is it really - $8/wk? Skip a lousy raise... i'm sure employees would be much happier with the insurance. And you never know, before complacency sets in, the higher moral might actually boost productivity.

Now I understand we may not agree, and that's fine, but my personal interpretation is that his small biz policy won't force businesses to close (adapt, yes) and to think otherwise is probably a bit extreme.

hey guys, can i join in?

BARACK OBAMA IS A SOCIALIST WHO WOULD GIVE CUPCAKES TO WELFARE QUEENS. AND THEN TAKE OUR GUNS. AND BIBLES. AND CHANGE THE NATIONAL ANTHEM TO "MOVE ON UP" BY CURTIS MAYFIELD.

or something like that...

jamesbflo - i have to disagree with you on this point, with a population of over 300 million it´s just not feasible or practical for either the gov or companies to pay for health care or to even share the costs, the economic drain of covering that amount of people is just not possible. No country exists with even 25% of our population that gives health insurance to all of its citizens.

The issue is not who should pick up the tab, the real problem is that health care costs in the US are too high and unattainable for just about anyone. The only way to ensure health coverage is to lower the costs so they are accessible by all. I currently live in mexico and I can tell you that maybe 5% of the citizens here have health coverage but it´s not an issue for anyone because even the poorest person can afford to go to the doctor, dentist or even emergency room. If a poor person goes to the emergency room in the US they are hit with a $5000 bill for a 20 minute visit. That´s the real issue.

If the overall costs to cover these health issues are accessible it no longer is an issue if you have insurance or not. The reality is that we have the whole issue all wrong in the states and until costs are lowered nothing is going to change.

QUESTION. Why wont Obama put his hand on his heart to Pledge Allegiance? Also, why wont he put his hand on the Bible to be sworn in? Is he ashamed? WHy is noone questioning this about this Muslim President?

I truly wish that we would apply some of the same critique, scrutiny, and expections on our elected Local and State Leaders. Where is the critical assessment of our Mayor, County Executive, and Governor? Where is the scrutiny of Hillary Clinton and our other representatives?

We are the second poorest city in the nation; yet we pay the more for basic essentials like gasoline, natural gas, electricity, and water than most other places in the country. We are struggling for survival as a city and for our future as a region, and we are concerning ourselves with cupcakes in the shape of our President Elect. Let's take some of the passion and energy that we have for the "what if" of tomorrow and apply it to the "what is" of today.

Enlightening to read that those that voted for Obama feel the Russian behavior would be the same, given McCain or Obama as president. It's not a coincidence that we've heard from Israel, Russia, and now GM, Ford and Chrysler with their handout, all within a few hours of the 'chosen one' being selected.

The stock market offered it's opinion over the last six weeks (pricing in an Obama victory)... his choice for chief of staff shows that change was a nice slogan he could win with, but it really has no place in his cabinent, or I'm afraid, his presidency.

Obama isn't ideology-free but it still appears as though the old and somewhat kooky ideologues of the right and left are being pushed aside or just plain ditched in some cases in favor of a less ideological and more pragmatic approach. It would be nice if our gov't were able to identify the important problems and propose reasonable solutions. This is also what we need more of in Buffalo. Funny that even Buffalo's new boosterism like this web site is still very ideological and uncritical. Would be nice if we valued self-criticism. Would be nice if we looked more at the data and less to anecdotes when trying understand what is happening to our city.

Paul - If you don't think your critiques here of GWB here have included a lot of sweeping generalizing, I won't try convincing you. Most people probably consider themselves objective and balanced. Doesn't matter. Just expect a lot of generalizing back in Obama's direction. Karma. We'll never know if Russia and other nations would do the same if McCain had won as they will with Obama, or what stock investors would do, etc. Just as we'll never know if a President Gore or Kerry would've been able to force Congress to slow national debt growth. Very doubtful they would've, but we'll never know. Still the debt is often attributed to GWB alone. That's how it goes for any president, but this new one will have a ton of media coddling.

Re. your Obama critiques, I wonder if your 1st will be about him choosing a former Freddie Mac director as White House chief of staff.

'Emanuel Was Director Of Freddie Mac During Scandal

By BRIAN ROSS and RHONDA SCHWARTZ November 7, 2008 President-elect Barack Obama's newly appointed chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, served on the board of directors of the federal mortgage firm Freddie Mac at a time when scandal was brewing at the troubled agency and the board failed to spot "red flags," ...According to a complaint later filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission, Freddie Mac, known formally as the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, misreported profits by billions of dollars in order to deceive investors between the years 2000 and 2002. ...'

I also wonder if McCain won and appointed a Freddie Mac director as W.H. chief of staff if the media wouldn't be splashing that all over headlines today instead of burying the story. We'll never know that either, but we can guess.

Davvid - I hope you're right about the pragmatism, but it's too early to tell. The O campaign was long on marketing and hope, but some of the specifics I heard sounded more ideological than pragmatic. For example when Obama said in a debate even if raising capital gains tax rates actually reduced revenue to the govt, he'd still want to do it anyhow to promote "fairness". Also when Obama said he wanted more trade restrictions with Canada, playing up to union anti-NAFTA politics. That also sounds ideologial more than practical. To me, pragmatism would focus on growing the pie for everyone but I'm not hearing that so far. Maybe once in office he'll move towards post 1994 Clintonomics pragmatism which is largely what we've had since. That will anger moveon.org and such who favored him over Hillary becuse she is more pragmatic, but maybe he'll do it anyway.

I agree stongly with what you said about Buffalo and boosterism. Very well put.

paul... i actually do think russia would act differently if McCain was elected. after all while bush still had power and the republicans had some say in congress, the russians signed a deal that said they would remove 3 missle sites from western russia. now fast forward to an hour or so after obama is elected and congress becomes overwhelmingly democratic. russia not only says it is putting missles on the polish border but withdraws from the earlier agreement about shuting down its western missle sites. HOURS AFTER!!! way too big of a coincidence.

Paul, you talk out of both sides of your mouth........on every topic.

Obama/Democrats, historically, are not good for Wall St. or National Security. The are for welfare reform and taxing the rich.

Anyone could have won this election; Bush did such a horrible job, but the brainwashed people on this site sound like they are in a cult...and this whole Black/white thing should not even be a factor for presidency.

This story is all about politics. Zilly is a devoted democrat, she loves Obama and stands for all he stands for. Just look at her t-shirt and tell me that this is about cupcakes and not about politics.

Clyde - you da man -

Zilly looks like your typical tree huggin flaming liberal. Clueless to global politics and economics, but real happy that a black man finally became president even though she is white.....thats was the most important issue of the race.

haaaaaaaaaa, she is a closet terrorist. I can feel it

gaustad -

1948-2005 under democratic leadership family income growth has annually risen evenly across all income brackets at average of 2.41% under republican leadership it's risen 1.13%, with a 1.47% disparity from top earners to bottom earners. I'll eat a cupcake to that.

gaustad- Job growth is better with Democrats as well. George W. 0.5%, Clinton 2.4%, Daddy Bush 0.6%, Reagan 2.1%, Carter 3.1%, Ford 1.1%, Nixon 2.2%, Johnson 3.8%.

Sweetie- You mixed up a great and decent American with a terrorist that Bush let get away. Was that a typo or are you psycho?

I have to admit, I don't understand why anyone would want to watch TV and assume they were using their brain. It asks our society to be unfriendly and dependant on image, as if we had previously acheaved some ideal form of pleasure. real americans have talking points like anti american liberal. It is this distinction that inharently speaks for a lack of intutive experence. television needs to be responsible for our creative independence.

{deleted- flaming}

BlackRockAdvocate - you really got me on that one ! good thing this is a hippi site, otherwise your comments would be deleted too as flaming.

Listen to what Sweetie has to say....she just might be right!?

One problem with job growth numbers in BRLifer's comment is that year 1 or even year 2 of a presidency is greatly influenced by how the economy is at the time the predecessor leaves office. Things can't change instantly. For example, when Reagan started, the economy was very bad continuing from the end of Carter's term. If the first year or two is skipped or lagged, then average job growth under Reagan was higher than under Carter. Here's a discussion of that.

No serious economist would say the economy for jobs was better during Carter's presidency than Reagan's.

Most of what is necessary has been put in place now to get the economy back on its feet within the next 12 months.

Fed is throwing tons of money at everything.

Barack Hussein Obama will take credit and look like a hero.

gaustad- It is very unlikely "the economy will be back on its feet within the next 12 months". The damage caused by the greed and incompetence of the last 8 years will take a long time to repair. The experiment of deregulation and free markets was a failure and the American people are now stuck with the bill.

All we are saying....is give the cupcakes a chance....

sweetest- I was hoping it was a typo. You certainly have a right to your opinion, but comparing a good and decent man to a mass murderer is not "free speech" or reasonable.

Plenty of stupidity in this thread.

Sweetest, I can't believe you were already banned.....they mean business on this site when it comes to Obama....this is too bad. I always thought this was good place to exchange ideas....is it really that one sided?

http://www.theonion.com/content/video/obama_win_causes_obsessive?utm_source=EMTF_Onion

that was hilarious.