Blatant vote buying, right out in the open...

[Goshin]

AP - Democrats are making a pre-election pitch to give Social Security recipients a one-time payment of $250, part of a larger effort to convince senior voters that their party, and not Republicans, will best look out for the 58 million people who get the government retirement and disability benefits.

Not even the slightest attempt to hide what it really is: vote buying. I am disgusted.

 

[Cold Highway]

Kinda funny when you think about it, never expect a politician to be the obvious.

 

[cpwill]

well, at least this won't add to the debt; i'm sure that since they were the ones who initiated pay-go, they will take the money from somewhere else, like all that unspent pork stimulus funds.

 

[MaggieD]

Not even the slightest attempt to hide what it really is: vote buying. I am disgusted.

Do you really think someone will vote for Democrats just because of a $250 one-time SS credit? I sure don't. We're in a mess. This is just one more thing we can't afford to do.

 

[TennesseeRain]

Is there a link you'd like to share or we're all just supposed to read the part you want us to read and form an opinion from that just like you did?

 

[Goshin]

Is there a link you'd like to share or we're all just supposed to read the part you want us to read and form an opinion from that just like you did?

It's an AP story. Look it up if you like, or not as you prefer.

 

[Orion]

I don't like this either, but to be fair it's not the same as buying votes.

Buying a vote = I pay you, and you openly vote for me.

Elections are secret ballot. There is no way for dems to know if their incentive worked or not. It would be like taking their money if they retain power, even though you voted GOP.

 

[Mustachio]

Not even the slightest attempt to hide what it really is: vote buying. I am disgusted.

Yeah buying a vote is when you give somebody money to vote for you. That money cannot be dependent on whether or not the candidate wins and a vote for the measure passes the house and senate and is approved by the president -- when you sell your vote that means you get money or something of value. Right then.

By your logic, every time a candidate has ever promised to cut taxes, they're "blatently buying votes." Think a little harder, dawg.

 

[Goshin]

Yeah buying a vote is when you give somebody money to vote for you. That money cannot be dependent on whether or not the candidate wins and a vote for the measure passes the house and senate and is approved by the president -- when you sell your vote that means you get money or something of value. Right then.

By your logic, every time a candidate has ever promised to cut taxes, they're "blatently buying votes." Think a little harder, dawg.

A couple weeks before an election in which the Democrat legislators are falling behind, they cut a check to SS recipients "in the hope of showing them who's going to handle SS better"... and you don't see this as blatant vote buying?

Better trim that mustache, dawg, I think it is interfering with your vision.

 

[Orion]

A couple weeks before an election in which the Democrat legislators are falling behind, they cut a check to SS recipients "in the hope of showing them who's going to handle SS better"... and you don't see this as blatant vote buying?

Better trim that mustache, dawg, I think it is interfering with your vision.

But it's not just voters for the Dems who are receiving the funds, it's also people who will vote for the GOP as well as people who won't be voting at all. It's not vote buying if it's on the policy level. There aren't specific people designed to receive these funds and there is no way to ensure follow through anyway. People receiving the funds could just as easily not vote Democrat.

I would call it an enticement or an incentive, not a bribe. A bribe has obvious carry-through and obligation to fulfill a bargain.

 

[Aunt Spiker]

Not even the slightest attempt to hide what it really is: vote buying. I am disgusted.

So I guess everything could be considered vote buying.

 

[Simon W. Moon]

Not even the slightest attempt to hide what it really is: vote buying. I am disgusted.

The CBO listed this sort of thing as a useful measure when comes to stimulating the economy. Perhaps there's no real expectation of a quid pro quo.

It seems conceivable that someone could take the money and then vote for whomever they choose w/o any repercussions.

 

[Aunt Spiker]

Somehow, though, I don't see many wise, elderly people being bought out with just a mere $250.00.

 

[Goshin]

So I guess everything could be considered vote buying.

Actually I think about half of what Congress does is vote buying of one sort or another, nor are the Dems exclusively guilty of it, though they are usually the worst offenders.

 

[Goshin]

Somehow, though, I don't see many wise, elderly people being bought out with just a mere $250.00.

Regrettably I know a fairly good number of elderly people who are not necessarily wise. Self-intrest is not exclusive to the young, either.

 

[Simon W. Moon]

Somehow, the tax break thing always seems to come up just before elections.

Why is that?

 

[Goshin]

This can't be compared to tax breaks. Tax breaks are letting YOU keep more of the money that YOU already earned.

Cutting people a check for $250 is giving you more of OTHER people's money.

 

[rathi]

This can't be compared to tax breaks. Tax breaks are letting YOU keep more of the money that YOU already earned.

Not when you run a deficit. It taking money from the taxpayers of the future and making them pay for the deadbeats of today.

Cutting people a check for $250 is giving you more of OTHER people's money.

It certainly is slimy behavior and the cause of overspending, but it still isn't accurate to call it vote buying. Playing to the public's greed is one of the flawed by legitimate ways a democracy works.

 

[Simon W. Moon]

This can't be compared to tax breaks. Tax breaks are letting YOU keep more of the money that YOU already earned.
Cutting people a check for $250 is giving you more of OTHER people's money.

I understand that that two things are not identical.

Let me ask it this way:
Why is it that tax breaks aren't brought up in non-election years? Surely their value to the country is just as great when there isn't an election looming.

 

[TennesseeRain]

It's an AP story. Look it up if you like, or not as you prefer.

It's normally in good form to post a link along with a story, but if you'd rather be rude about it, then go ahead.

 

[BWG]

Uh, didn't SS recipients get $250 last year also, via the American Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act?

On May 7, 2009, the federal government issued the first economic recovery payments to people receiving Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits. The payments are being issued on a staggered basis throughout the month of May. Please do not contact us unless you have not received your payment by June 4, 2009.

In February, President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. This act provides for the one-time payment of $250 to nearly 53 million individuals who get Social Security and SSI benefits.

Social Security Online - One-Time Economic Recovery Payments Information Page

 

[Goshin]

It's normally in good form to post a link along with a story, but if you'd rather be rude about it, then go ahead.

Sir, if the tone of your own post had been a bit more courteous, you would undoubtably have recieved a more polite and cooperative response.

 

[Aunt Spiker]

I understand that that two things are not identical.

Let me ask it this way:
Why is it that tax breaks aren't brought up in non-election years? Surely their value to the country is just as great when there isn't an election looming.

Well - the Bush tax-cuts are up for vote this year because they're set to expire.

They often don't think about things until they're needing a vote which means support or opposition in force.

 

[Moot]

Not even the slightest attempt to hide what it really is: vote buying. I am disgusted.

The bill was introduced in July.....

"....The Seniors Protection Act of 2010 will provide a $250 payment to about 54 million Social Security recipients. Congressman Pomeroy introduced the bill, H.R. 5987, in July, and has since worked to ensure that this bill will be enacted before the end of the year....."

» Update on the $250 Social Security Stimulus (SSI) Payment in 2010 for Retirees, Veterans and the Disabled Who Get No COLA Increase | Saving to Inve$t

My calender says it's getting close to the end of the year. Is it really that disgusting or are you just politicizing a non partisan issue? If so, then some might find that disgusting, too.

 

[Moot]

I understand that that two things are not identical.

Let me ask it this way:
Why is it that tax breaks aren't brought up in non-election years? Surely their value to the country is just as great when there isn't an election looming.

You mean like the tax break that nobody attention to...

Poll Reveals Most Americans Don't Know They Got a Tax Cut - Political Hotsheet - CBS News