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These days, there are few issues that can unite Democrats and Republicans. However, here is one that concerns members of both parties and all potential voters. Willard Mitt Romney has refused to release his tax returns any time soon, despite calls from his opponents, from his supporters, and from the general public. Why should Romney supporters ask for this release? As Newt Gingrich pointed out in the second South Carolina debate, “If there’s anything in there that’s gonna help us lose the election, then we should know it before the nomination.” Romney said recently that releasing his tax returns now would be “a nice little present” for the Democrats. So how could Democrats pass up a gift now, and another in April when his 2011 returns are due? By waiting until April, when he’s said he’ll release his 2011 returns and maybe a few other select years to be determined, he’s avoiding potential controversy that could arise during the primary process, while his returns from 2010 and before are long finished and possibly damaging - or so he’s implying, by withholding them. There have been reports that Romney harbors much of his wealth in tax shelters on the Cayman Islands, which could bring his combined tax rate to a figure even lower than the 15% - the capital gains and dividends rate - he has claimed to pay. Even if his rate is in fact 15%, that’s considerably lower than that of Americans who earn a tiny fraction of his income. Other reports speculate that Romney may have been a leading player in the Mormon Church’s campaign to attack marriage equality in California, and his tax returns would reveal how much money he pumped into this initiative. And he still may not have paid taxes from many years ago, because of the “carried interest” loophole made possible by his private equity portfolio. A Man Out Of Touch Romney has called the $374,327 he made in speaker’s fees between February 2010 and February 2011 “not very much.” This is seven times the median household income in the United States, but only a small portion of Romney’s income - so to him, yes, this is a negligible amount of money. He has bet $10,000 on national television and admits that he likes to fire people. He thinks discussions about income inequality - about the rich, and the rest - can take place “in quiet rooms,” but not as part of a campaign. He thinks these discussions constitute the “politics of envy,” as opposed to a vital - possibly the pivotal - issue in the 2012 presidential campaign. Do the Great Recession and the nation’s drastically high unemployment rate have nothing to do with the vast wealth inequality in America? Shouldn’t a presidential candidate believe in addressing these issues with his voters? People have many questions for this man whose perspective on income appears disconnected from the reality of working-class Americans. It’s our right, as voters, to know how much money he’s making, what tax rates he’s paying, and where his donations are going. This disclosure will only begin to answer some of these questions. *Romney has announced that he'll release his 2010 returns, and an 'estimate' of his 2011 returns, on Tuesday, January 24. This is not nearly enough.

Georgia General assembly is poised to pass a bill to require mandatory free labor from anyone who file for unemployment benefit. Senate Bill 294 is shamelessly named as " Dignity for the Unemployed Act", which will require you to do free work if you loose your job for no fault of your own, including layoff, reduction of hours or if you lost job due to business closed.

The US Postal Service employs over a 500,000 Americans and has the ability to reach places that privatized companies can not. The United State's Constitution explicitly authorizes it's existence, yet Republican legislation from 2006 seeks to destroy this American institution. The Postal A&E Act requires the USPS to prefund 75-years' worth of future health care benefit payments to retirees. This Act is unconstitutional, in my opinion, and is a disgrace. Under these harsh regulations, no business can survive. The USPS has not received taxpayer funds in nearly 30 years, unlike the banking system. The USPS does not need our money, just our support.

Indiana residents have a right to be heard! Government should be for and by the people, and in that spirit, we petition our Governor, Mitch Daniels, and the Indiana State Legislature: We, the citizens of Indiana, want a public referendum on Right to Work. No matter which side of this issue you're on, your voice deserves to be heard.

It would create training & employment for unemployed youth, and provide workers on needed environmental and infrastructure projects. Returning armed forces veterans & Returned Peace Corps Volunteers could be recruited for leadership positions.

Student loans has for decades been back-breaking for numerous people, some like myself. Most of us (who had no other way to get an education) had taken on these loans with all intentions of repaying them, but later found that for one reason or another, we could not attract the type of employment (coupled w/unreasonable interest rates we were forced into) that would allow us to make what became inflated payments. Based on the state of the economy, one way of assisting some of us would be for govt/lenders to forgive/significantly reduce the loans based on; (1) past payment history,(2) amt repaid (3) ability to repay.

Why is Social Security and unemployment taxed? These are programs that Americans rely on when necessary or have paid into all their working lives as a retirement program. We need to uphold the integrity of these programs!

We could payday loans, car title loans and outrageous credit card fees by limiting interest to 10%. It's interesting that when debtor countries in Europe had their loans at 7% interest the loans refinanced because at 7% interest it was considered unrealistic that the loans would ever be repaid. So why are we paying 20% or more on credit card balances?

I will like Democrats and Republicans to pass a bill, to keep jobs in the USA. For example, If an American company has a factory in China with 1000 employees by law they need to have the same employee counts in USA.

Stop the right to work bills

If your home is valued less than its worth, refinaince your existing homeloan equal to todays marketable home value. Yes, instead of watching your memories be taken away from you and your family, this new "Start Fresh" loan conversion will keep tha American Dream alive. No more foreclosure. The lender MUST provide you a new home loan based on the market value of your home rather than what is owed. We didn't bail them out for nothing, now its time for them to help the people get back to what is riight rather than watching them get deeper and deeper into dept trying to pay for something that will continue to choke them out.