from what i understand the government is buying up troubled assets (TARP) from banks and whatnot to get them off the banks books. in return the government gets equity warrants which allows the government to purchase non-voting shares (which probably may or may not be preferred) in the bank from which it bought the troubled assets.

this really all goes back to how our finance system works. normally a bank has 'x' dollars to lend out. once they lend out the 'x' they package up those loans and sell them to someone else. now the bank has more money to loan out. problem is, no one wanted to by debt anymore since many people have been defaulting on those loans.

here is a basic place to start: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troubled_Assets_Relief_Program

hate to use this phrase but: paradigm, please get out of the box and leave.

does that mean that the music on my digital music play doesnt exist? or the words i see on the screen in front of me don't exist?

dood! have you ever looked at your HANDS?

what is so hard about a line that says: "enter income here (all sources)_________ * x% = income tax paid." then the government can define income as: wages, tips, dividends, etc. see your first point.

taxes on goods would work the similar to how it does now. new goods are taxed, used goods are not. it discourages waste. necessities are not taxed (food).

last i checked, services weren't taxed. the services provider pays taxes on what they are paid to provide a service. i don't charge clients taxes for my professional services. though, what i have to pay in taxes are calculated into what i charge.

better, i think, if you only charge a sale tax then you get taxes from hookers, drug dealers, "rich" people buying caviar etc.

morally, i think, taxes, as a percentage, should be equal. i shouldnt pay a higher (or lower) percentage of my income because of some magic number the government pulls out of its cornhole.

however, i should be able to give the government more money if i want to. do high tax advocates do that? i havent met any that do.

what was that quote about ram/memory?

i know a guy who used to suffer back pain. he was tall and drove a tiny car. he had to sit funny so his head wouldnt rub the ceiling liner. he was always going to the chiropractor.

then he bought a larger car in which he could sit normally.

no more chiropractor. anecdotal. posture.