1st Presidential Debate Official Thread!

[mrveggieman]

First I've watched any Presidential Debates and have to say that I'm impressed with Romney thus far.

I agree that Romney was very well spoken last night however I cannot believe 1 word that comes out of his mouth. The guy flip flops more than John Kerry did in 2004.

[AUTaxMan]

And tell me again what Romney will do to make our country better???

Lower our taxes for starters.

[pghin08]

Guys, can we just agree that neither Mitt Romney nor Barack Obama are setting out to "ruin" the country? People are allowed to have different ideas. There's just way to much vitriolic speech coming from the general population.

[habsheaven]

I was impressed with Romney's performance last night. He really came through when needed. Obama was obviously told to play it safe, and in doing so he was not very aggressive. He and his advisors will use this debate to alter their strategy and come at Romney harder in the next one. Count on it. History tells us that debates do not have a major impact on election day. I doubt that will change here.

[mrveggieman]

Lower our taxes for starters.

Lower taxes for who? The filthy rich who does not need a tax cut? It has been proven time and time again that trickle down economics does not work.

[AUTaxMan]

Lower taxes for who? The filthy rich who does not need a tax cut? It has been proven time and time again that trickle down economics does not work.

His plan is to lower everyone's taxes. Get your head out of the sand.

[pghin08]

His plan is to lower everyone's taxes. Get your head out of the sand.

Well, his plan is to lower the rates and cut deductions. It's really not all that different than Obama.

[AUTaxMan]

Well, his plan is to lower the rates and cut deductions. It's really not all that different than Obama.

Depends on what deductions he cuts. Most people take the standard deduction, so if that isn't effected, then most people will only see their tax burden decrease.

[pghin08]

Depends on what deductions he cuts. Most people take the standard deduction, so if that isn't effected, then most people will only see their tax burden decrease.

The mortgage interest deduction is huge for middle class families. I couldn't imagine Romney cutting that though, America's realtors would throw a total fit. To me though, you means test that deduction. Sorry Mark Zuckerberg, you don't get to deduct the interest on your second home.

[AUTaxMan]

The mortgage interest deduction is huge for middle class families. I couldn't imagine Romney cutting that though, America's realtors would throw a total fit. To me though, you means test that deduction. Sorry Mark Zuckerberg, you don't get to deduct the interest on your second home.

I think it needs to be phased out at a certain income level, like a lot of other deductions are, or at least lower the limitation on it. $500K/$1MM is too high. I doubt he would touch any above-the-line deductions.

By the way, did you know that Obamacare raises the medical expense deduction floor from 7.5% to 10% of adjusted gross income?