Extend All the Bush-Era Tax Cuts?

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Tea Party proponents need to answer this question:
How can we afford to cut taxes and fight our current wars
while simultaneously reducing our national debt?
Isn't that obviously impossible, without stopping the wars or eliminating entitlements?
(Vague answers spouting ideology avoid the question.)

Frank Dworak of NJ 10:32AM October 26, 2010

Why are we even having discussions about rich versus poor? Why are we trying to make the rich seem evil, and the poor as noble and good? We are all humans. Most of the rich are rich because they worked hard, got the education they needed, and took risks. Most poor did not get an education (50% high school drop out rates in many cities), did not work hard, did not make themselves employable to even be middle class.
This is all an issue of freedom versus statism. We can either have government off our backs, freeing us up to create jobs and opportunities in the private sector for everyone; or we can allow government to build a nanny state that encourages people to not excel in their lives and have the chance of being rich themselves. Last time I looked, statism has always failed whether it was fascism, socialism, communism, etc.
Our economy has collapsed, not because of freedom, but because government monkeyed around with the economy and housing, creating bubbles in finances and housing. Both bubbles burst at the same time. Then we bailed out the fat cats on Wall Street, which Elizabeth Warren says is still in critical condition, while allowing 9 of 10 foreclosures to still happen. Once again, government tinkering at its worst. Had we allow banks to fail, and focused on bailing out the little guy, we could have paid off all mortgages in the USA for $10 Trillion and saved ourselves almost $4Trillion! THAT would have stimulated the economy, by keeping government and its regulatory forces out of the market.
I'm for freedom. This means we need to stop focusing on tax breaks for rich/middle class/poor, and start focusing on deregulating America. Federal Government, with its veneer conveniences, needs to shrink by at least 50%. Otherwise we won't have any business for people to work at, no money to help the poor, etc. We need to instill freedom in the minds of the people. They have to be primarily responsible for their own lives. Some hardships will teach them how to live better, and not on the dole (either the rich bankers, the middle class, or the poor).

Gerald Smith of IN 10:12AM October 05, 2010

They have the money. The disparity between the rich and middle class has been growing for decades. In the 1960's corporate execs made between 12 and 20 X more than their middle tier employees. Now they make more than a hundred X more, and they have outsourced millions of jobs to increase their bonuses.
Raise taxes on the wealthy so that they pay 60% tax (total of federal, state and local). Give corporations a big tax break for bringing jobs back home or creating new ones.
Aid industry further by instituting tariffs, and removing most of the costly and time consuming environmental regulations and bloated bureaucracy that drove many industries over-seas in the first place.
Finally, hamstring the unions and the trial lawyers.
Close the borders and deport the 10 million illegals that are here.
There is no other way to revive the economy - but unfortunately we haven't the will.

R.L. Schaefer of CA 7:01PM October 04, 2010

If we continue to grant tax-cut for shipping jobs outside of the country, and knock-down bills to give taxbreaks for creating new americans job; then the American bussinesses will have no incentive to create or even maintain american jobs, when then can catch the same taxbreak for funding employees in India.
The job market in america will remain unstable until BushTax ends.

Stephen Clark of CA 5:25PM October 04, 2010