BREAKING NEWS: President Obama wolfs down TWO chili dogs and fries... the day after his wife unveils new dietary guide

[Usui Takumi 1,562]

Chilli dogs can be very healthy...use turkey and minimise the sodium.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

- I have the choice to pay for private schools while paying taxes to provide a dysfunctional public one too?

-YOu support the rich having a school choice but not the poor.

Did I say that? No. What I said was that you have the very same choices as Obama does. He's not affording himself any choices that he had done anything to deny you or anyone else. And you are concerned about the rich being able to afford things the poor can't? When did you turn commie?

[Used to be broken 147]

Did I say that? No. What I said was that you have the very same choices as Obama does. He's not affording himself any choices that he had done anything to deny you or anyone else. And you are concerned about the rich being able to afford things the poor can't? When did you turn commie?

Obama has less choices than just about anybody but the Queen of England. He sends his kids where they will be safe in DC and the Secret Service can manage it.

Do you have to be labeled a commie for noting there is huge income disparity in the United States that is relatively new historically speaking and a product of tinkering with the tax system by individuals who can afford to manipulate the legal system to benefit themselves? A true democracy would provide a similar educational and social and economic opportunity to everyone, aka The American Dream. We are slowly drifting towards a society where there is no "middle ground" economically At some point not only will the have-nots not be able to afford private school they won't be able to buy all the cheap ####### made in China being sold by the Economic Elitist in our society which will not be good for anybody.

[SMR 368]

I am pro-choice. What Danno suggests, however, is that Obama somehow has more of a choice than Joe Average. That's not the case. Obama sends his daughters to private school while still paying for public schools through his property taxes. Makes him no different than anyone else.

Question from my ignorance: Does the POTUS pay property taxes? I suppose he would if he chose to own other residences besides the White House. But I wouldn't suspect that he does pay property taxes on the White House.

[Fandango 1,440]

Every now and again ya gotta break the monotony by indulging. No fan of Obama here, but this criticism is unwarranted, imo.

[Ban Hammer 13,716]

now i want a chili dog. can i blame obama for this?

[^_^ 5,021]

Every now and again ya gotta break the monotony by indulging. No fan of Obama here, but this criticism is unwarranted, imo.

He 'indulges' a lot. His wife is the smart one, from a dietary POV. He smokes and eats a lot of Five Guys.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

If Obama was only seeing eating arugula with balsamic vinegar, people would be questioning his sexual orientation.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Question from my ignorance: Does the POTUS pay property taxes? I suppose he would if he chose to own other residences besides the White House. But I wouldn't suspect that he does pay property taxes on the White House.

Right. He would pay property taxes only on his private residence. If he were to give that up for the time he resides at the White House - which he did not - then he would not pay property taxes. That still wouldn't make him any different than anyone else taking a job that comes with housing - those exist outside of politics.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Do you have to be labeled a commie for noting there is huge income disparity in the United States that is relatively new historically speaking and a product of tinkering with the tax system by individuals who can afford to manipulate the legal system to benefit themselves?

If you ask me, then the answer to that question is no. If you'd ask Danno, however, based on his views expressed in these discussions, the answer would most certainly be yes. Which is why I asked him when his conversion took place. Must have been very, very recently.

[Zero Sum 305]

If you ask me, then the answer to that question is no. If you'd ask Danno, however, based on his views expressed in these discussions, the answer would most certainly be yes. Which is why I asked him when his conversion took place. Must have been very, very recently.

Others might just label you as a tax and spend liberal in hopes of protecting that upper crust since they apparently aren't so rich anymore that they can't create the jobs they are supposedly benefactors of... never mind they're not exactly hurting ever, but that's something in the realm of fact and some people can't be bothered with that.

[SMR 368]

Right. He would pay property taxes only on his private residence. If he were to give that up for the time he resides at the White House - which he did not - then he would not pay property taxes. That still wouldn't make him any different than anyone else taking a job that comes with housing - those exist outside of politics.

Well, any property taxes he pays in Chicago wouldn't help pay for schools in DC, even if he decided to send his children there.

And it's different from other jobs that come with housing since I don't suspect anyone pays property taxes on the White House. Even if a private company provides housing to an employee and the company still pays property taxes on that residence. In any case, I understand this isn't really a core or critical issue. I was only pointing out that your argument that the president pays property taxes to support the schools his children don't go to just like anybody else who chooses private schools is inaccurate.

The real question is what is so unreasonable about a person having the option of redirecting the funding, that would have been sent to a public school where his or her child would have attended, and sending it to an accredited private school where he or she chooses to send his or her child? Why can't I use that money towards a private tutor for my child or a home school program? The fact is, depending on where you live, between $8k and $20k is allocated per student per year. In many areas that is enough for a decent private school. In any case it is enough for a good start.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

I was only pointing out that your argument that the president pays property taxes to support the schools his children don't go to just like anybody else who chooses private schools is inaccurate.

How so? He pays property taxes on his Chicago residence which pay for public schools in Chicago that his children aren't utilizing because he has them in a private school in D.C. This is the same for anyone that places their children in a private school whether that oprivate school is in the same location where the residence is or not.

The real question is what is so unreasonable about a person having the option of redirecting the funding, that would have been sent to a public school where his or her child would have attended, and sending it to an accredited private school where he or she chooses to send his or her child?

What about all the people that pay property taxes even though they don't have any children of school age to begin with? Do they get to re-direct their taxes to their country club?

[SMR 368]

What about all the people that pay property taxes even though they don't have any children of school age to begin with? Do they get to re-direct their taxes to their country club?

That's a complete non-sequitur. You're suggesting that I'm talking about taxes paid (ie. I paid taxes and if I don't use them I should get them back). I'm talking about money allocated for the education of each child, regardless of how much his parents or relatives paid in taxes. That is, after all, how education spending works. It's allocated per child, not per tax dollar paid by the parents.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

That's a complete non-sequitur. You're suggesting that I'm talking about taxes paid (ie. I paid taxes and if I don't use them I should get them back). I'm talking about money allocated for the education of each child, regardless of how much his parents or relatives paid in taxes. That is, after all, how education spending works. It's allocated per child, not per tax dollar paid by the parents.

Fair enough on the point that taxes are paid to educate children so the funds must go towards education. If you'd let parents decide where to take their funds, it would make a number of things a bit complicated.

Can parents take their kids to public schools in other districts? If so, what happens to the children in that disctrict? Do they now need to get in line or be bussed across town to another acceptable dictrict provided that hasn't been overrun as well?

There were a number of factors when we chose the location of the house we bought - on top of the list of considerations was the school district that property is located in. I can't help parents that fail to make that a prime consideration when choosing a place to call home - whether they rent or buy. If you can't prioritize the education of your child, then that sounds like a personal issue to me.