The next time you hear someone say that cutting taxes creates jobs, punch that person directly in the face. Or, if you are want to be a little less confrontational, ask them if they believe in leprechauns, unicorns, and the tooth fairy as well. Because the idea that tax cuts—specifically, that cutting income taxes for people making more than $250,000 a year—is totally ridiculous, and completely unfounded.
The Bush era tax cuts have now been in place for nearly a decade, and yet, we are looking at the highest rate of unemployment since 1983. If these tax cuts were going to make such huge difference for our economy—if tax cuts always stimulate the economy, just where in the fuck are the jobs?
Nowhere to be found. In fact, the richest 1 percent of this country have never been richer, but for some strange reason I can’t fucking figure, they aren’t out there investing and creating jobs. The money never trickled down because it’s currently feeding trust fund babies or building factories in India and China; or worse, simply sitting around in some rich fuck’s bank account, doing nothing but collecting interest. The real irony is that a huge number of corporations have a ton of money on hand, available to build factories, increase production, increase efficiency, and in turn, hire workers. But right now they’re sitting tight. Why?
Because no one has any fucking money to spend. It’s all trickled up and away from the lower and middle classes, and what money we do have is spent paying mortgages, student loans, medical bills, tuition, etc. This is precisely why supply side, trickle down, Reaganomics—whatever you want to call it—doesn’t work. People can’t buy up the supply if they don’t have any money. Companies and investors know that, so they aren’t going to spend money trying to build more shit—they’re going to sit on it, which is exactly what is going on now.
So how Republicans, like Jack “douche-nozzle” Roberts, whom the Oregonian likes to publish, can sit there and argue that we just can’t raise taxes on the rich is just unconscionable. According to Nicholas Kristof’s recent New York Times article, extending the Bush tax cuts to the richest 0.1% of Americans would grant them an extra $370,000 a year. Given that they probably already take care of a pretty lavish lifestyle with what they have, to assume that they are actually going to spend all of that in one fiscal year, or use it to hire more workers, is pretty naïve.
The bullshit meter really hits a high note when you realize that these same fucking assholes don’t want to extend unemployment insurance. This, despite the fact that recent studies show that we can reasonably expect approximately $1.60 to $1.70 of economic activity for every $1 paid out in unemployment or food stamps. It’s baffling how bad these people are.
I guess the next question is: how long can our society sustain this type of malfeasance without just completely crumbling? If I had to guess, not much longer. Even if the economy shows signs of improving in the short term, we can’t expect it to continue to improve without significant changes to how our government functions. And that is just the problem: we can’t make changes for the better. We aren’t ever willing to tell the richies and the corporations to pay their fair share, or to take responsibility for the state of our country. We’re never willing to force the stakeholders to let go of their stakes—even when it’s clear they’ve abused their power. And every corporation, organization, politician and individual is only thinking about their own selfish best interests, rather than taking into account that their interests often align with the interests of those around them.
If you’ve ever seen A Beautiful Mind, recall the scene where the main character, Steve Nash, and his friends go to the bar. Nash has an epiphany while all of his buddies are drooling over the most beautiful blonde girl in the bar. He realizes that if they all try to hit on the blonde, all of them will fail, because they will end up blocking each other, and moreover, they won’t be able to be successful hitting on any of the other girls, because the girls will feel second best after seeing the boys fall all over themselves to get the blonde. What Nash finally concludes is that if they go hit on the other girls in the first place, and ignore the blonde, they won’t insult the girls, won’t block each other, and consequently Nash smiles, “we all get laid.” In so doing, Nash ends up proving that Adam Smith and the fictional character from Wall Street, Gordon Gecko (“greed is good”), are wrong—or, incomplete—when they argued that everyone acting in their own best interests serves the common good. Ultimately, everyone acting in their and the group’s best interest is truly what serves the common good, and yields the best results for everyone.
The problem is that the nature of a two-party system doesn’t foster this type of cooperation or leadership. Republicans go for the blonde every damn time, and Democrats are still sitting at the table trying to think of a line. But Republicans aren’t ever going to get her because women aren’t interested in all talk and no action, and Democrats won’t ever get up the balls to go speak to the woman, let alone ask her out. And we, the American people, just want to get laid—who gives a shit about the blonde? Brunettes and redheads are better in bed anyway. But, until our politicians think about solutions that work for all Americans, no one is getting anything.
OK, so that was officially a tangent. But I still think we shouldn’t extend the Bush tax cuts for people making more than $250,000 a year. Just because the Democrats are too ball-less to hit on the blonde, doesn’t mean they should sit there and do nothing while the Republicans rape her.
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Friday, November 12, 2010
Proposed
The United States is currently rotting its way from an industrialized nation to a third world country, and unless we get the economy turned around—and fast—it is simply going to be too late to stop. Quite frankly, both political parties are partially to blame, but that isn’t the root of the problem. The root lies in how our political system functions, specifically the disproportionate influence of not only money, but also of media. Until regular citizens, whose interests are far different from those of the power elite, exercise the same measure of influence, the system will continue its dysfunction, as will the political parties that represent the interests of those that inhabit and do business in this nation.
To this end, several key things must be accomplished in order to right the ship, and therefore I propose we, as American citizens, create a voting block dedicated to accomplishing some very simple goals, that everyone who is rational and reasonable, should be able to support, regardless of party affiliation or differences in mainstream viewpoints.
In doing so, we shall agree to support candidates, regardless of political affiliation, who agree to seek to accomplish these stated goals. Our support, of course, is conditional. Significantly before each election, our voting block will ask candidates who seek our endorsement, to apply for our endorsement, explaining how they intend to bring about accomplishing the goals of our organization. In addition, each member of the organization will be provided with information detailing each candidate’s voting record, stated views, campaign donations, etc. Then, our members will vote on which person to endorse in the upcoming election. Once the vote is tallied, every member must agree to vote for that candidate that wins the endorsement. Since our goals are national in nature, every discussion on endorsement will be national, whether we are considering voting for the President, a Senator, or a House member.
In order to be truly effective as a voting block, members must be extremely loyal to the decisions of the organization as a whole, completely ignore partisan politics, and focus entirely on the actions of each candidate seeking our endorsement, and how those actions can bring about the goals we seek to achieve.
In the coming year, I will work hard to set up a website, facebook page, twitter account, and other social networking tools so that this voting block can begin functioning before the 2012 election. Each member will have a user name and password, and in this way, votes will be confidential, as well as secure. Once I have done more leg work and finalized some of the details, I will let everyone know, but for now, I think we should decide what it is we would like to see accomplished.
Here are some of my proposals—please let me know what you think:
1) Amend the constitution to specify that corporations are not people, and that only individuals or groups that are American citizen enjoy the right to freedom of speech.
2) Amend the constitution to endow congress with the right to regulate federal, state, and local elections.
3) Cut the corporate tax rate to 15% and end all deductions and subsidies to private industry.
4) Reform our educational system. One idea: create a graduated education tax credit for each student from age 4 to 22, and then allow schools to compete for students, setting their own price of tuition. For example, for taxpayers making less than $20,000 a year, the tax credit would be for $9,000, between $20,000 and $50,000, $8000, between $50,000 and $100,000, $7000, between $100,000 and $250,000, $5000, between $250,000 and $500,000, $3000, and beyond that, there would be no tax credit. The numbers would have to be figured out more exactly, but something to this effect. To receive the tax credit, one would have to prove that they have a dependant child who is attending an accredited school. Teachers and administrators would still need to receive their licenses through the states. Currently owned public schools could then be leased either whole, or piecemeal, to competing schools with a price ceiling in place to ensure access to public facilities, and at the same time, allowing the government to take in more revenue. Schools would be responsible for their own agenda and curriculum, but would be subject to state testing and evaluation to provide parents with information on each individual school. Finally, the federal government would set up a fund that would match private or public investment in building and/or maintaining more schools, which would provide badly needed jobs in construction, and encourage communities to invest in local schools.
5) Nullify all trade agreements and treaties with foreign nations. All future agreements should be exactly the same for both countries—for example, if Great Britain puts a tariff on a U.S. good, then we put exactly the same tariff on British goods. Tariffs and agreements should also take into account prevailing wages in those countries and be adjusted to make U.S. goods competitive with foreign goods.
6) Allow a public option to participate in the health insurance exchange. Basically, this will lead to a single payer system, because the public insurance would be a non-profit that is only responsible for paying medical bills. Ironically, the deficit commission that met recently containing several prominent conservatives, made this same recommendation.
7) Cut military spending so that the Department of Defense may comprise no more than 12% of the federal budget (it is currently about 19%).
8) Reform Social Security so that upon age 65, every citizen receives $750 per month until their death, regardless of lifetime payments. Cut Social Security taxes to reflect this (average benefits in 2010 were around $1,100 per month).
9) Create a 5% additional tax on the revenues of televised media, since they are benefitting from the public airwaves, and use the revenue to fund education.
10) Institute a wealth tax on private individuals worth more than $50 million, and tax their total worth by 0.1% annually (meaning, for an individual worth more than $50 million, in addition to other taxes they are subject to, they would pay an additional $50,000 per year to the treasury. For someone worth 1 billion, this amount would be $1 million).
To this end, several key things must be accomplished in order to right the ship, and therefore I propose we, as American citizens, create a voting block dedicated to accomplishing some very simple goals, that everyone who is rational and reasonable, should be able to support, regardless of party affiliation or differences in mainstream viewpoints.
In doing so, we shall agree to support candidates, regardless of political affiliation, who agree to seek to accomplish these stated goals. Our support, of course, is conditional. Significantly before each election, our voting block will ask candidates who seek our endorsement, to apply for our endorsement, explaining how they intend to bring about accomplishing the goals of our organization. In addition, each member of the organization will be provided with information detailing each candidate’s voting record, stated views, campaign donations, etc. Then, our members will vote on which person to endorse in the upcoming election. Once the vote is tallied, every member must agree to vote for that candidate that wins the endorsement. Since our goals are national in nature, every discussion on endorsement will be national, whether we are considering voting for the President, a Senator, or a House member.
In order to be truly effective as a voting block, members must be extremely loyal to the decisions of the organization as a whole, completely ignore partisan politics, and focus entirely on the actions of each candidate seeking our endorsement, and how those actions can bring about the goals we seek to achieve.
In the coming year, I will work hard to set up a website, facebook page, twitter account, and other social networking tools so that this voting block can begin functioning before the 2012 election. Each member will have a user name and password, and in this way, votes will be confidential, as well as secure. Once I have done more leg work and finalized some of the details, I will let everyone know, but for now, I think we should decide what it is we would like to see accomplished.
Here are some of my proposals—please let me know what you think:
1) Amend the constitution to specify that corporations are not people, and that only individuals or groups that are American citizen enjoy the right to freedom of speech.
2) Amend the constitution to endow congress with the right to regulate federal, state, and local elections.
3) Cut the corporate tax rate to 15% and end all deductions and subsidies to private industry.
4) Reform our educational system. One idea: create a graduated education tax credit for each student from age 4 to 22, and then allow schools to compete for students, setting their own price of tuition. For example, for taxpayers making less than $20,000 a year, the tax credit would be for $9,000, between $20,000 and $50,000, $8000, between $50,000 and $100,000, $7000, between $100,000 and $250,000, $5000, between $250,000 and $500,000, $3000, and beyond that, there would be no tax credit. The numbers would have to be figured out more exactly, but something to this effect. To receive the tax credit, one would have to prove that they have a dependant child who is attending an accredited school. Teachers and administrators would still need to receive their licenses through the states. Currently owned public schools could then be leased either whole, or piecemeal, to competing schools with a price ceiling in place to ensure access to public facilities, and at the same time, allowing the government to take in more revenue. Schools would be responsible for their own agenda and curriculum, but would be subject to state testing and evaluation to provide parents with information on each individual school. Finally, the federal government would set up a fund that would match private or public investment in building and/or maintaining more schools, which would provide badly needed jobs in construction, and encourage communities to invest in local schools.
5) Nullify all trade agreements and treaties with foreign nations. All future agreements should be exactly the same for both countries—for example, if Great Britain puts a tariff on a U.S. good, then we put exactly the same tariff on British goods. Tariffs and agreements should also take into account prevailing wages in those countries and be adjusted to make U.S. goods competitive with foreign goods.
6) Allow a public option to participate in the health insurance exchange. Basically, this will lead to a single payer system, because the public insurance would be a non-profit that is only responsible for paying medical bills. Ironically, the deficit commission that met recently containing several prominent conservatives, made this same recommendation.
7) Cut military spending so that the Department of Defense may comprise no more than 12% of the federal budget (it is currently about 19%).
8) Reform Social Security so that upon age 65, every citizen receives $750 per month until their death, regardless of lifetime payments. Cut Social Security taxes to reflect this (average benefits in 2010 were around $1,100 per month).
9) Create a 5% additional tax on the revenues of televised media, since they are benefitting from the public airwaves, and use the revenue to fund education.
10) Institute a wealth tax on private individuals worth more than $50 million, and tax their total worth by 0.1% annually (meaning, for an individual worth more than $50 million, in addition to other taxes they are subject to, they would pay an additional $50,000 per year to the treasury. For someone worth 1 billion, this amount would be $1 million).
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Predictions
OK, so first of all, I suppose I ought to absolve myself of a great sin...I didn't vote. I know, I know, what a stupid, hypocritical bastard--me, of all people, who lives and breathes politics, didn't vote. Truth be told, I wanted to, but forgot to register, and then it was too late. It would be really nice if you could just prove you were a citizen, walk into a polling place, and vote, but then again, that would be much too easy and way too democratic of a notion for it to be put into practice, so I'll just take responsibility and say I blew it.
Anyway, as you might guess, that doesn't mean I wasn't paying attention to what was going on Tuesday night, and while it wasn't very surprising, it was nonetheless a very depressing evening. Let me recap the 2010 election in TRUTHFUL terms, since apparently no one else is willing to tell it: senior citizens (who receive social security and are covered by medicare), along with angry rural, white voters (many of whom receive farm subsidies and whose counties and states generally get more far more federal money than they pay in taxes), got angry about paying taxes, a black man in the white house, and the fact that he wanted to make some very moderate changes to the medical insurance industry (which is still bleeding us dry). So they voted for Republicans, who are promising to both cut taxes and pay down the deficit. Now I may only be an English teacher, but that's just bullshit.
Unfortunately, old people and dumb people don't. They got fooled, or more correctly, they voted for falsehoods they refuse to acknowledge as the lies that they are, because they would rather pretend everything's just the way they say it is, as opposed to admitting their worldview is bankrupt, and they've been wrong all along. And because of that, because people who essentially owe their comfortable lives to social programs brought into being by Democrats--who see the wisdom in planning for, and providing, to some degree, a stable society--because the elderly and the rednecks chose to make a terrifyingly brainless choice Tuesday, we are now going to see the following things during the next two years:
1. The Bush tax cuts will be extended, even for those Americans making over $250,000 a year, exacerbating the deficit by $700 billion. Obama will capitulate to the Republicans on this, because otherwise, he will be forced to be a villain for the rest of his 1 term presidency, unless he somehow manages to get elected again in 2012, which is going to be tough because:
2. Every other action the Republicans take will be to undercut Obama's popularity. There will be hearings, investigations, allegations, and all kinds of legal proceedings putting Obama and his entire cabinet under constant scrutiny. The other thing we know for sure is that:
3. The Republicans won't compromise. So, in all likelihood, nothing will actually get done to alleviate any of the myriad, chronic problems this country faces in the short future. Nothing. Just a lot of complaining and mudslinging for the next two years, which by the way will be:
4. Horrifying. If you noticed the flood of money into this year's election having a huge effect on political messaging, imagine what it will be like in 2012 when there's a presidency on the line. You can thank the conservative Supreme Court and especially the Bush appointees for that.
5. The silver lining...since nothing meaningful will get done, it is unlikely independent voters will support Republicans as they did during this election, and on top of that, Obama and the Dems will be less of a motivating factor for conservatives, because they themselves are in power in the most powerful arm of the legislative branch, meaning that to shoot at Democrats and Obama, they're going to have to shoot at Boehner and the elephants as well. Plus, liberal voters (like myself) should be more motivated to go out and cast ballots after the horror of any type of Republican rule, which as we all know, is backward, inefficient, and sexually abhorrent.
6. And, as always, father time rolls on...sleep well old timers!
Anyway, as you might guess, that doesn't mean I wasn't paying attention to what was going on Tuesday night, and while it wasn't very surprising, it was nonetheless a very depressing evening. Let me recap the 2010 election in TRUTHFUL terms, since apparently no one else is willing to tell it: senior citizens (who receive social security and are covered by medicare), along with angry rural, white voters (many of whom receive farm subsidies and whose counties and states generally get more far more federal money than they pay in taxes), got angry about paying taxes, a black man in the white house, and the fact that he wanted to make some very moderate changes to the medical insurance industry (which is still bleeding us dry). So they voted for Republicans, who are promising to both cut taxes and pay down the deficit. Now I may only be an English teacher, but that's just bullshit.
Unfortunately, old people and dumb people don't. They got fooled, or more correctly, they voted for falsehoods they refuse to acknowledge as the lies that they are, because they would rather pretend everything's just the way they say it is, as opposed to admitting their worldview is bankrupt, and they've been wrong all along. And because of that, because people who essentially owe their comfortable lives to social programs brought into being by Democrats--who see the wisdom in planning for, and providing, to some degree, a stable society--because the elderly and the rednecks chose to make a terrifyingly brainless choice Tuesday, we are now going to see the following things during the next two years:
1. The Bush tax cuts will be extended, even for those Americans making over $250,000 a year, exacerbating the deficit by $700 billion. Obama will capitulate to the Republicans on this, because otherwise, he will be forced to be a villain for the rest of his 1 term presidency, unless he somehow manages to get elected again in 2012, which is going to be tough because:
2. Every other action the Republicans take will be to undercut Obama's popularity. There will be hearings, investigations, allegations, and all kinds of legal proceedings putting Obama and his entire cabinet under constant scrutiny. The other thing we know for sure is that:
3. The Republicans won't compromise. So, in all likelihood, nothing will actually get done to alleviate any of the myriad, chronic problems this country faces in the short future. Nothing. Just a lot of complaining and mudslinging for the next two years, which by the way will be:
4. Horrifying. If you noticed the flood of money into this year's election having a huge effect on political messaging, imagine what it will be like in 2012 when there's a presidency on the line. You can thank the conservative Supreme Court and especially the Bush appointees for that.
5. The silver lining...since nothing meaningful will get done, it is unlikely independent voters will support Republicans as they did during this election, and on top of that, Obama and the Dems will be less of a motivating factor for conservatives, because they themselves are in power in the most powerful arm of the legislative branch, meaning that to shoot at Democrats and Obama, they're going to have to shoot at Boehner and the elephants as well. Plus, liberal voters (like myself) should be more motivated to go out and cast ballots after the horror of any type of Republican rule, which as we all know, is backward, inefficient, and sexually abhorrent.
6. And, as always, father time rolls on...sleep well old timers!
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