Happy to see you want to work with the President. Country first, political gain second.

Let's wait and see if Mr. Dold and his party will indeed work with the President, or just continue to delay and obfuscate further so the economy gets worse in order to win another election. Until then, it's just another free sound bite for an incumbent with nothing to say.

Of course he'll do or say whatever he thinks will get him re-elected. Running is way more important than that pesky governing to most of them. Recall that the "status quo" is Republican obstructionism followed by blame the President for not doing anything.

Work with the President? Really? He has voted with his party ( Even with Joe Walsh) on everything. I believe that if the President said he liked bacon Mitch McConnell, Boehner and Dold would outlaw bacon.....get my drift? They have not done anything to move forward.Rep Dold...go back to killing Bugs not job growth!

Talks like he cares
VOTES, like he is TOLD!

Poor Bob Dold. As someone who leans conservative, I've called his office to complain when he breaks with his Party as with voting against the defunding of Planned Parenthood. Those who lean complain that he never supports the President's position.

Fortunately the replacement for our "Sheridan Road Senator" has sided with the Koch's & has done his best to ensure that "No Billionaire is left behind ". All those pesky middle class jobs will remain where the multi national CEOs want them. In Communist China.

Mr. Dold is nothing but a figurehead for the Repugnicrats organization. He is happy to be in Washington where he can slime with the rest of them. They are really enjoying putting down the electorate for the parties gains.

According to the White House, the rising tide of food stamp recipients is a blessing for the American economy. The latest data from the Ag. Dept. show a record 45.753 million Americans receiving food stamp payments at a cost of some $84 Billion. “When you talk about the SNAP program or the food stamp program,” Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack said, “you have to recognize that it's also an economic stimulus. Every dollar of SNAP benefits generates $1.84 in the economy in terms of economic activity. If people are able to buy a little more in the grocery store, someone has to stock it, package it, shelve it, process it, ship it. All of those are jobs.”

Just think, if Dold would get behind the President they might be able to put everyone on food stamps the way they want every American to be on federal healthcare. Currently, with only 15% of us on food stamps, we are adding only $70 Billion to the economy. If we all were given food stamps, we could add $396 Billion to the economy. Those Republicans just don't understand economics the way this current Administration does. After all, we're currently borrowing 40 cents for every dollar we spend. If we borrow more money to put everyone on food stamps, according to this Administration, we gain 44 cents for every dollar we spend on food stamps (84 cents – 40 cents). Stupid Republicans!

I can't understand why Dold won't get behind this President who wants us to be more like Greece, Spain, and Great Britain.

He signed Grover's no new taxes pledge. That was a big mistake. He should have only one pledge and that is to the citizens of his district. Can't believe much he says or does until he denounces his allegiance to Grover Norquest.

The national Democrats are pushing for higher taxes and cutting the budget as a solution to the budget mess in Washington, D.C. When Obama and the Democrats controlled the White House, the Senate and the House, they didn't bother to pass a budget for two consecutive years. They can't even blame Republicans for that fact.

In Springfield, Illinois, the Democrats pushed for some staggering increases in taxes and cut back the spending a bit. Things in Illinois still are getting worse. Our public pensions are the most underfunded in the nation and we owe a billion dollars in services the State has already received from contractors, with no means of paying them.

As a Greek-American, I watch my relatives in Greece protesting that pensions granted to them at age 58, government meddling and ownership in all aspects of the economy and reckless borrowing with no means of repayment, have brought their economy to ruin and have forced some serious cut backs in entitlements and spending. Government is selling off their shares of businesses in Greece.

Time for everyone to sit down and work a solution. The tax more, spend the same ideology failed in Illinois and will fail nationally. Our credit rating in Illinois and nationally is being downgraded for good reason.

Dold has the right idea.

Tax rates are at their LOWEST LEVELS IN DECADES.

Taxes, as a percentage of GDP are at their lowest levels in DECADES.

David Stockman, Reagan's Budget Director :

"We had a 30 year spree of PHONEY PROSPERITY in this country."

"In 1985, the top five percent of the households – the wealthiest five percent – had net worth of $8 trillion – which is a lot. Today, serial bubble after serial bubble, the top five per cent have net worth of $40 trillion. The top five per cent have gained more wealth than the whole human race had created prior to 1980."

"A one time 15% wealth tax would cut the deficit in HALF !"

Can we now put to rest the Reaganite Kool-Aid about "free markets", "trickle down economics", "deficits don't matter" and "Government is the problem ?

To explain with history.....FDR tried to end the depression with stimulus, but didn't do enough or do it for long enough and in 1937 recovery stalled. Then came the biggest economic stimulus the world had ever seen (WWII). Everybody worked and everybody bought bonds (loaned the govt. money) to fund the war. During and after, all the "daddy warbucks" paid for the war with their profits (91% tax bracket). The government, meanwhile, INVESTED in education (GI bill) and built things (interstate highways for example). Fast forward to the beginning of the 21st century. We spend trillions on credit (two wars and Medicare D, and now those who profited most from the 90s boom and the last decade of defense spending won't foot the bill. In the 40s it was patriotic to pay for military expenditures with taxes from high incomes. Now the rich and powerful prefer to let their money sit or invest in other parts of the world, because it's more profitable.

Raising taxes in Illinois has lead to prosperity in this State? Now a near doubling of tolls will lead to the creation of 120,000 permanent jobs?

I don't know what you are smoking Max but record spending of government has it's consequences and we are all feeling additional major pain. Ask my relatives in Greece how your talking points are working out.

Raising all those taxes and fees in Illinois has brought more pain on everyone, not less. And now you want higher federal taxes?

Piling on is a 15 yard penalty!

and btw....Mr. Dold doesn't have ANY ideas.

Let's not mix apples and oranges. State budgets and the Federal are different animals and should probably be discussed separately. None the less....The Illinois Tollway Authority is an example of how government can stimulate the economy directly and produce something that the region (insert econonmy here ) will benefit from for decades to come. Yup, it's a tax that's called a toll, but it funds specific things that the economy needs, such as good roads (for commerce), and also generates economic activity by paying workers, equipment manufacturers, and so on down the line. Good for business in the long run. You see....government spending trickles down....tax breaks do not.

Republicans should like tolls to pay for roads. Tolls are another regressive tax that hits the lower income brackets the hardest.

Pedro B -
Look at the graph in the last link you posted. Taxes on the rich were lower at the end of the Reagan Administration than they are today. The claim by Max that "Tax rates are at their LOWEST LEVELS IN DECADES" is simply false.