Our Brother's and Sister's Keeper?

If we are not responsible for trying to make this a better world for those who share this place and time with us, who are our sisters and brothers of this time and space, who are us, if not for serendipity, then what are we on this planet for? Should we feel the pain of those who are suffering? If we do not, then what are we? What is the meaning of life?

Dog Biscuits for the Democrats

The Republican Party seems to be able to get the Democratic Party to talk about whatever they want them to talk about. Rather than setting the agenda, the Democrats just follow along with the Republicans like dogs running for doggie biscuits. [To be fair, perhaps the nastier elements of the Democratic Party have simply abandoned that party in favor of the Republican Party, namely the inheritors of the "Dixiecrat" mantle, which could also be described as the "We're still mad you ended slavery" crowd.) In 2004, it was easy to get the Democrats to talk about "gay marriage" and rile up the Republican "base" (which means the hard core bigots who Roger Moore had in mind when he wrote Stupid White Men). Now the issue seems to be immigration (after a false start with "gay adoption"?). What should the Democrats do? They should just walk out of Congress when the Republicans start this nonsense and refuse to debate the immigration bill(s), saying that they refuse to cooperate with the Republicans until the party in power takes up either fundamental reforms to the social contract (such as national health insurance)* and/or the criminal activities engaged in by the current executive administration, including the release of classified information on order of the president (another impeachable offense, perhaps even meeting the standard of treason?), violations of the constitution, conspiracy in the commission of election fraud, and corruption involving tax monies being channeled to cronies involved in the "rebuilding of Iraq" and similar (though much smaller scale) activities in New Orleans. At the least, the media would give more coverage to these issues, which are far more important than most of the pablum that usually fills up the evening news shows.

*I'd also settle for a debate over ending the income tax and going with some version of the fair tax.

Congratulations to Arsenal

Arsenal advanced to the UEFA Champion's League semi-final today with its 2-0 aggregate win over Juventus.



BBC photo

 

April Snow Showers

Democratic Party Should Embrace Major Tax Reform

The Democratic Party needs to support significant tax reform, perhaps even the abolition of the income and labor (FICA) taxes in favor of a European-style value added tax (which gives people more latitude to reduce their taxes by savings behavior, something we should be promoting in a country that has become so dependent on foreign creditors). It is quite clear that the Republican Party has been captured by a corrupt elite who are using the instruments of power to steal tax dollars for their own personal gain, so there is virtually no chance that tax reform will come from that circle. Nevertheless, I believe there are a lot of American citizens who feel very passionate about the need for a major overhaul of the tax system, for ending the intrusiveness of the tax bureaucracy*, and for creating more fundamental incentives for savings.

*One of the great tragedies of the tax system in the U.S. is that it has become the foundation for big, intrusive government. People fear the I.R.S., because the agency has enormous power and latitude. The I.R.S. is so powerful that it can punish citizens even when I.R.S. employees make mistakes. (If you call the I.R.S. for tax advice, beware. One-third of the time they screw up and, yes, you are responsible if foolish enough to follow their incorrect advice.) There is a quote I recall from a trailer to the movie V for Vendetta (which I have not seen) that was quite poignant: "People should not fear their government. The government should fear the people." Well, that sounds about right. The government needs to protect the Bill of Rights and other of the citizenship rights that make up the core of the American value system, but it should not start to become above the people, above the constitution. One way to help make this a reality is to get rid of the tax bureaucracy. Thus, tax reform could simultaneously change the burdens placed on the people, create incentives to save, and improve our freedoms by eliminating the bureaucracy.