I was reminded of the issue of "fairness" again the other day in an e-mail. It was suggested that one's property tax be based on one's wealth, not necessarily the value of one's home. Of course, "that's only fair." Certainly it is; if one has more money, one should without question pay more in taxes.
Of course that's "fair." For example, two guys go to the same restaurant and order the same meals. But the wealthier guy pays more for it than the other guy. Isn't that "fair?" Who could argue with that? The rich guy has more money, so his hamburger should cost him more than the exact same one bought by the guy without so much money. How about ballgame tickets? Two guys in the grandstand, sitting right next to each other don't pay the same price. The guy who is richer pays more for the exact same tickets. But, isn't that "fair?" After all, he has more money than the other guy....
A lot of folks forget that those with more income do pay more taxes, even with a flat tax rate such as here in Michigan. Simply put, 4.4% of $400,000 is more than 4.4% of %50,000. But the issue here, as brought up in the e-mail, was a progressive tax, where the person with more income pays a higher rate, not just more tax (see the previous sentence). Again, it is offered, "that's only fair."
I guess my question is "why?" Why is that "fair?" Who says? I don't think I do. Consider this (and, to avoid pointing fingers at anyone else, I'll use my own experiences: Oh, about 15 years or so ago, at the dinner table one night, Matt asked from out of nowhere, "Mom, how come Dad has, like, five jobs and you have only one?" We laughed and joked about it at the time. But I think it is instructive. I'm not sure I had "five jobs," but I was drawing paychecks from five different places. Now, I obviously made more money than had I just had one, my primary, job. But should I, with four other "jobs," have paid at an even higher rate? Let's examine that. First, I put myself in the position to get those other four jobs. I took the initiative to find them. I worked to give myself the experience, the education/resume, the abilities to do those other jobs. I could have sat back and watched "The NFL on CBS" or other boob tube shows all the time, but I didn't. Second, I took the initiative to find those jobs. Nobody came knocking on my door to ask me if I wanted any of them. Third, I gave up two or three evenings a week and my Saturdays to work at these jobs, either at home or away. But, again, I wasn't just sitting home watching the boob tube. OK, I'm out of the way. What about that guy who just sits home and watches television every night and all weekend? Let's add someone who didn't graduate from college or even high school, that is, goofed off and didn't prepare himself. He ignored everything people told him about the future and jobs. In these instances, this other person might well make less money that I did. But consider the premise behind the progressive income tax. Because I was ambitious, took initiative, prepared myself, I should be penalized? Because he was lazy or at least not ambitious and took no initiative, he should be rewarded? There is something seriously flawed with that sort of reasoning, if it can be called that.
I'm late on a deadline, but there's another aspect that needs to be examined, at a later time. Where does the money involuntarily taken from the person who was ambitious, prepared himself, took initiative, worked instead of played, go? Can we surmise that a lot of it goes to the ones who weren't ambitious, didn't prepare, took no initiative, played instead of worked? But, that's for a later time to discuss.
Friday, December 30, 2011
Just Wondering....
How times change! I laughed as I picked up the Sports Section of this AM's newspaper, after reading everything else and then found there wasn't a single story I wanted to read!
I also saw online this AM that Time Magazine's Person of the Year is "The Protester/or." I'm not sure what that means. Why wasn't "The Protester/or" the Person of the Year in 2010? Hmmm....could it be that the "protester/or" of consequence last year was the Tea Partier? Just asking. Exacty what is it that the 2011 version in the US has accomplished? Certainly nothing compared to the Tea Partiers did in the 2010 elections. What about world-wide? That, too, is in doubt. OK, Mubarak and Ghaddafy are gone, but at what price? Who have taken their places? Ask the women in Cairo what they think of the new regime?
I also saw online this AM that Time Magazine's Person of the Year is "The Protester/or." I'm not sure what that means. Why wasn't "The Protester/or" the Person of the Year in 2010? Hmmm....could it be that the "protester/or" of consequence last year was the Tea Partier? Just asking. Exacty what is it that the 2011 version in the US has accomplished? Certainly nothing compared to the Tea Partiers did in the 2010 elections. What about world-wide? That, too, is in doubt. OK, Mubarak and Ghaddafy are gone, but at what price? Who have taken their places? Ask the women in Cairo what they think of the new regime?
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
A Few Thoughts...
...before retiring with my book. It's been a long two or three days. I don't think many people know how tiring, really exhausting writing can be. I'm out of gas after about 4 to 6 hours of it each of the past three days!
One humbling experience.... For the winter solstice a member of the Class of '70 sent around a photo of the celebration Stonehenge. Accompanying the picture were quite a few solstice greetings, in Greek, Hebrew, German, Yiddish, whatnot. Over the course of the next couple of days, more than one other member jumped in with translations, complete with corrections of gender, tense, inflection, etc. No doubt, I was out of my league!
I open my computer and on my Home Page is something about what some Maher guy said about this Tebow football player. First, who cares what this Hollywood-type says? Who, in the first place, decided these Hollywood-types know any more than the rest of us, that they don't have their own share of Bozos? Second, what's the big deal about what somebody says about some NFL guy? Don't people have better things to think about, care about? How about what Obama said, that he lies if he things it will make things better? Or what about Gingrich and his words about ignoring court rulings if the majority of people disagree? The list is practically endless, the list of things to really care about.
Perhaps the end of days is near?
One humbling experience.... For the winter solstice a member of the Class of '70 sent around a photo of the celebration Stonehenge. Accompanying the picture were quite a few solstice greetings, in Greek, Hebrew, German, Yiddish, whatnot. Over the course of the next couple of days, more than one other member jumped in with translations, complete with corrections of gender, tense, inflection, etc. No doubt, I was out of my league!
I open my computer and on my Home Page is something about what some Maher guy said about this Tebow football player. First, who cares what this Hollywood-type says? Who, in the first place, decided these Hollywood-types know any more than the rest of us, that they don't have their own share of Bozos? Second, what's the big deal about what somebody says about some NFL guy? Don't people have better things to think about, care about? How about what Obama said, that he lies if he things it will make things better? Or what about Gingrich and his words about ignoring court rulings if the majority of people disagree? The list is practically endless, the list of things to really care about.
Perhaps the end of days is near?
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
We Have What We Deserve
I don't know how many times I've heard people snicker about the people of Detroit and say, "They get what they deserve." The corrupt and inept politicians over the years have betrayed the trust of Detroiters. And I don't blame Detroit voters from turning from white candidates, whose history has hardly been one of benefit to blacks. But, back to "They get what they deserve."
The same can be said for the rest of us, for electing the same "Bozos" (thanks to Lee Iacocca for reminding us what our elected officials really have become) time and time again. And, when we do throw some of them out, we are stupid enough to think the two parties (both the Democrats and the Republicans) can be trusted to provide good people. Here are two examples from today's newspaper alone.
First, with so many people hurting, with the need to help others still so great, what does the state government do? It eliminates the tax credit for charitable contributions! C'mon, the credit is only $100 for an individual and twice that for couples. "Oh, the state treasury will gain..." so many millions of dollars. Give me a break! There is still a lot of cutting that can be done. I know where and so do you. How about the state legislators and governor making up the difference? If the donations aren't that big a deal, then they can give to help others. I don't give to get the credit; in fact, few of my donations qualify for it. But, that's not the point. Shame! Shame on the state government!!!!! But, I waste my time--politicians have proven again and again that they have no sense of shame.
Second, the payroll tax extension of two months shows us again that adults are not present in DC. What a joke that is! It proves that these guys have no idea of how to run anything--not businesses, not government, not anything! Both sides, but esp the President and Democrats are playing politics with this. Gee, it's an election year; is anyone surprised? Just for that, we should vote the Bozos out--but they provide many more reasons. What company can plan this crap for two months--two months? And, if the "plan" is to just come back in 2012 and extend the break for 12 months, then why not just do that in the first place? As disappointing as this joke of an extension is (And who doesn't expect "jokes" coming out of DC? Will Rogers said of Washington, "Every time someone makes a joke [there], it becomes a law. And every time someone makes a law, it becomes a joke." Some things never change.), the cave-in of the House Republicans is more so. Finally, an initial show of courage and principle (although the cut should be made permanent), the House Rep lost their spine. Let's repeat this: Shame! Shame on the President and Congress!!!!!! But, I say again, I waste my time....
And shame on all of us for settling for and electing and re-electing these same Bozos again and again. Good news, though, I heard American Idol is coming back in January! And, the Lions are in the playoffs! Who cares??????
The same can be said for the rest of us, for electing the same "Bozos" (thanks to Lee Iacocca for reminding us what our elected officials really have become) time and time again. And, when we do throw some of them out, we are stupid enough to think the two parties (both the Democrats and the Republicans) can be trusted to provide good people. Here are two examples from today's newspaper alone.
First, with so many people hurting, with the need to help others still so great, what does the state government do? It eliminates the tax credit for charitable contributions! C'mon, the credit is only $100 for an individual and twice that for couples. "Oh, the state treasury will gain..." so many millions of dollars. Give me a break! There is still a lot of cutting that can be done. I know where and so do you. How about the state legislators and governor making up the difference? If the donations aren't that big a deal, then they can give to help others. I don't give to get the credit; in fact, few of my donations qualify for it. But, that's not the point. Shame! Shame on the state government!!!!! But, I waste my time--politicians have proven again and again that they have no sense of shame.
Second, the payroll tax extension of two months shows us again that adults are not present in DC. What a joke that is! It proves that these guys have no idea of how to run anything--not businesses, not government, not anything! Both sides, but esp the President and Democrats are playing politics with this. Gee, it's an election year; is anyone surprised? Just for that, we should vote the Bozos out--but they provide many more reasons. What company can plan this crap for two months--two months? And, if the "plan" is to just come back in 2012 and extend the break for 12 months, then why not just do that in the first place? As disappointing as this joke of an extension is (And who doesn't expect "jokes" coming out of DC? Will Rogers said of Washington, "Every time someone makes a joke [there], it becomes a law. And every time someone makes a law, it becomes a joke." Some things never change.), the cave-in of the House Republicans is more so. Finally, an initial show of courage and principle (although the cut should be made permanent), the House Rep lost their spine. Let's repeat this: Shame! Shame on the President and Congress!!!!!! But, I say again, I waste my time....
And shame on all of us for settling for and electing and re-electing these same Bozos again and again. Good news, though, I heard American Idol is coming back in January! And, the Lions are in the playoffs! Who cares??????
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
And nobody cares....
I see where the federal gov't gave China about $19 million for some educational and/or cultural programs this year. Let's ignore why we are giving the commies anything. But, you might ask, where did we get teh $19 million? Good guess--we borrowed it from China!
And I see where Country Wide, the big lender that went broke, paid some $300 million "settlement" for its role in the housing market collapse. Two items: First, why was the former CEO permitted to get a $400 million parachute, with an agreement he'd never work in the banking industry again? (Think about that one!) Second, where is the investigation and subsequent penalties for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and their executives such as Franklin Raines, who also left with huge buyouts? And what about Congress and its members, say, Barney Frank and Chris Dodd?
How cool! Attorney-General Eric Holder claimed people don't like him because he's black. I'm not even sure I knew he was black--at least I never think about it. What I don't like about him is his policies.
And I see where Country Wide, the big lender that went broke, paid some $300 million "settlement" for its role in the housing market collapse. Two items: First, why was the former CEO permitted to get a $400 million parachute, with an agreement he'd never work in the banking industry again? (Think about that one!) Second, where is the investigation and subsequent penalties for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and their executives such as Franklin Raines, who also left with huge buyouts? And what about Congress and its members, say, Barney Frank and Chris Dodd?
How cool! Attorney-General Eric Holder claimed people don't like him because he's black. I'm not even sure I knew he was black--at least I never think about it. What I don't like about him is his policies.
Thursday, December 15, 2011
??????
Is everyone losing his/her marbles? Perhaps it's just me.
I see an ad in today's newspaper for a hippy rock group called "5 Finger Death Punch." What kind of name is that? Pretty cool?
I hear Ron Paul say that Iran isn't a threat to anyone, that it's only responding to the threat from the US. Huh? He also said the Iranians aren't developing a nuclear weapon because they say they aren't. Hmmmm.... Perhaps we should just send the Iranians a nasty letter, sort of like we did with Hitler, Mussolini, and the Japanese war lords in the '30s. And we know how well that worked out. Oh, no we don't. I keep forgetting that history isn't important or, if we do learn history, it's not accurate, but some propaganda being foisted off as truth. (Example? How about that FDR's New Deal pulled us out of the Depression? Not so; not so.)
It's becoming more and more aggravating to me, listening to all these "do-gooders" complain about the "greed" of others. I was reminded of it passing a gas station today that charged 9 cents more for charges than for cash purchases. It's OK to charge more, but from what I understand, the cost of charges is 3 or 4 cents. So, why 9 cents? Isn't that "greedy?" But, more than that, it's those who complain about "greedy" others who irk me. Almost always, they have nice houses--nicer than mine--and big, expensive cars--bigger and more expensive than mine, and long and/or foreign vacations--ones I can't afford. I'm not at all envious. I have what I need and want. It's the hypocrisy of those decrying the "greed" of others, while spending their own money on, well, on themselves! Why don't they step down a few steps, buy a cheaper car and give the money they'd save on monthly car payments as a monthly charitable donation? Why don't they forgo those vacations or, perhaps, go more locally, and give the money to those they claim are needy? I'm not saying anyone should do that; it's their money and they can do with it as they like. More power to them. I just find the hypocrisy more and more galling. (OK, I actually called someone on that last week. I didn't get anywhere. No, hypocrites practice "situational ethics."
I know there are some really needy people out there, many through no fault of their own. But there an awful lot of people who milk the system, almost professional system players. I've heard of several in just the past few days. They should be punished, not only for milking the system and take undue advantage of it, but also for the stereotyped aspersions they cast on those who really need help. Who polices these situations and are there any repercussions/consequences for the fraud?
Out to read Harlan Coben, one of my favorite novelists.
I see an ad in today's newspaper for a hippy rock group called "5 Finger Death Punch." What kind of name is that? Pretty cool?
I hear Ron Paul say that Iran isn't a threat to anyone, that it's only responding to the threat from the US. Huh? He also said the Iranians aren't developing a nuclear weapon because they say they aren't. Hmmmm.... Perhaps we should just send the Iranians a nasty letter, sort of like we did with Hitler, Mussolini, and the Japanese war lords in the '30s. And we know how well that worked out. Oh, no we don't. I keep forgetting that history isn't important or, if we do learn history, it's not accurate, but some propaganda being foisted off as truth. (Example? How about that FDR's New Deal pulled us out of the Depression? Not so; not so.)
It's becoming more and more aggravating to me, listening to all these "do-gooders" complain about the "greed" of others. I was reminded of it passing a gas station today that charged 9 cents more for charges than for cash purchases. It's OK to charge more, but from what I understand, the cost of charges is 3 or 4 cents. So, why 9 cents? Isn't that "greedy?" But, more than that, it's those who complain about "greedy" others who irk me. Almost always, they have nice houses--nicer than mine--and big, expensive cars--bigger and more expensive than mine, and long and/or foreign vacations--ones I can't afford. I'm not at all envious. I have what I need and want. It's the hypocrisy of those decrying the "greed" of others, while spending their own money on, well, on themselves! Why don't they step down a few steps, buy a cheaper car and give the money they'd save on monthly car payments as a monthly charitable donation? Why don't they forgo those vacations or, perhaps, go more locally, and give the money to those they claim are needy? I'm not saying anyone should do that; it's their money and they can do with it as they like. More power to them. I just find the hypocrisy more and more galling. (OK, I actually called someone on that last week. I didn't get anywhere. No, hypocrites practice "situational ethics."
I know there are some really needy people out there, many through no fault of their own. But there an awful lot of people who milk the system, almost professional system players. I've heard of several in just the past few days. They should be punished, not only for milking the system and take undue advantage of it, but also for the stereotyped aspersions they cast on those who really need help. Who polices these situations and are there any repercussions/consequences for the fraud?
Out to read Harlan Coben, one of my favorite novelists.
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Out of Touch?
So, I see and hear that the Dems are all over Mitt Romney for his "bet" of $10,000 against Rick Perry. Several Dems, including the head of the Mich Dem Party, said this shows how "out of touch" Romney is with middle-class America. Yeah, right. Then how do these folks explain away their guy Obama's $30,000 a plate dinner last week, oh, with the Wall Street-types and bankers? I forgot--that's different. Here we go again, situational ethics and principles. Another great example of hypocrisy.
K told someone the other day that, according to Ron, Ron is never wrong. That in itself is wrong. I'm wrong a lot and in important things. But, when I discuss matters with people, there are two things I won't tolerate. People can have their own opinions, right or wrong. But they aren't entitled to their own facts. And, they aren't allowed to be hypocrites. Those things, I think, were got me a bit riled up the other day.
George Will had a very good column yesterday. He makes a very convincing case that Gingrich shouldn't be the Rep nominee; nor should Romney. Esp with Gingrich, there was always something about the guy that I didn't like that I couldn't put my finger on--but Will did, explaining it very well. If Gingrich or Romney (or even Paul, esp with his foreign policy) is your guy, you'd do well to read this column. It would certainly, at least, make you think about your choice. Google Will and the recent date.
I see there's a flap about Lowe's not sponsoring that Arab show on one of the cable networks. (Yeah, "reality show" my bejabbers!) I have never seen the show and don't plan on it. I have far more important things to do with my life (winding down to my personal "final days") than to watch television, esp those kinds of shows. (No, I've never seen Survivor, American Idol, Great Car Race, etc.) Lowe's is free to sponsor what it wants. Other companies are, too. People, then, are free to boycott Lowe's for not sponsoring and others for sponsoring. This is America. People and companies should realize that their actions have consequences. I think a Detroit News columnist, whose name escapes me, missed the point in yesterdays's or today's newspaper. And I wonder if she's ever been to Dearborn, in an Arab store waiting to be served and continually get pushed to the back of the line as Arabs who come into the store are waited on first. I'd think not. Obviously, that doesn't have in every store, but in enough of them to be noticeable. No, the columnist doesn't see stuff like that.
K told someone the other day that, according to Ron, Ron is never wrong. That in itself is wrong. I'm wrong a lot and in important things. But, when I discuss matters with people, there are two things I won't tolerate. People can have their own opinions, right or wrong. But they aren't entitled to their own facts. And, they aren't allowed to be hypocrites. Those things, I think, were got me a bit riled up the other day.
George Will had a very good column yesterday. He makes a very convincing case that Gingrich shouldn't be the Rep nominee; nor should Romney. Esp with Gingrich, there was always something about the guy that I didn't like that I couldn't put my finger on--but Will did, explaining it very well. If Gingrich or Romney (or even Paul, esp with his foreign policy) is your guy, you'd do well to read this column. It would certainly, at least, make you think about your choice. Google Will and the recent date.
I see there's a flap about Lowe's not sponsoring that Arab show on one of the cable networks. (Yeah, "reality show" my bejabbers!) I have never seen the show and don't plan on it. I have far more important things to do with my life (winding down to my personal "final days") than to watch television, esp those kinds of shows. (No, I've never seen Survivor, American Idol, Great Car Race, etc.) Lowe's is free to sponsor what it wants. Other companies are, too. People, then, are free to boycott Lowe's for not sponsoring and others for sponsoring. This is America. People and companies should realize that their actions have consequences. I think a Detroit News columnist, whose name escapes me, missed the point in yesterdays's or today's newspaper. And I wonder if she's ever been to Dearborn, in an Arab store waiting to be served and continually get pushed to the back of the line as Arabs who come into the store are waited on first. I'd think not. Obviously, that doesn't have in every store, but in enough of them to be noticeable. No, the columnist doesn't see stuff like that.
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