Forget for a moment that you’re a democrat, republican, independent, moderate, or libertarian.
Forget for a moment that you’re either a liberal or a conservative; a social liberal a fiscal conservative or a social conservative and fiscal liberal or any other combination.
Forget. For. A. Moment.
Think about how you live your life on a daily basis.
Think about how you make choices. Do you consider the consequences of said choices before deciding?
Think about if you try to balance your checkbook, pay your bills on time, or make sacrifices based on your income, the costs of goods and services and your priorities.
Think about (if you have kids) how you’re teaching them to think and behave. Are they allowed to throw tantrums, bite, kick, talk back, be ugly to classmates, or not do their homework without consequences?
Think about times when, or if you’ve failed as a result of a bad choice. Would you make that same choice again? Do you come back stronger for it?
Is there good and bad? Black and white? Wrongs and rights?
Could we all agree that murder is wrong?
That rape is wrong?
That stealing is wrong?
That guns don’t kill people, people kill people?
That what is good for the goose isn’t good for the gander?
Wait, did I get you on that one?
Right now we’ve got politicians flitting around in private jets while bitching about auto executives doing it – when at this point BOTH happen at the taxpayer expense.
We’ve got politicians flitting around in private jets, traveling in big entourages of SUVs, living in huge houses, while preaching to the rest of us to go green, and sacrifice and to stop driving our “evil”, polluting SUVs.
We’ve got private corporations, that must answer to stockholders, asking for government handouts because they can’t manage their money; and we have a government that gives it to them.
We’ve got members of the President’s Cabinet, and God only knows how many other politicians are tax evaders; yet we’re told it’s our patriotic duty to pay taxes and make sacrifices in these hard times. We are told we need to raise taxes on the rich but when you “Consider the IRS data for 2006, the most recent year that such tax data are available and a good year for the economy and ‘the wealthiest 2%.’ Roughly 3.8 million filers had adjusted gross incomes above $200,000 in 2006. (That’s about 7% of all returns; the data aren’t broken down at the $250,000 point.) These people paid about $522 billion in income taxes, or roughly 62% of all federal individual income receipts. The richest 1% — about 1.65 million filers making above $388,806 — paid some $408 billion, or 39.9% of all income tax revenues, while earning about 22% of all reported U.S. income.” How much more can you raise taxes on them, before they may say, FUCK THIS. I’m done making as much or any money. And then what do you do? Are we going to be owned by China?
We’ve got people that don’t understand the difference between wealth and income. I don’t have a lot of income, but I consider myself wealthy. And you can be wealthy (monetarily) without income. In that case you’re probably a blue blood. Or you have a trust fund. I’d like to know what is so wrong about an honest days work, and being successful and making as much as you can to better your life and the lives of your family?
We’ve got people in a state of mind, that think the government could and should provide for them, and that they’re entitled to said provisions (Native Americans excluded), but these people have forgotten that there’s no such thing as a free lunch. The money given to them must come from someone, somewhere. It comes from people that make enough to pay taxes; from cap and trade legislation. From gas taxes, etc.
When President Bush was in office, dissent was Patriotic. But now that we have a black president dissent means you’re a racist. I’m not a racist. I could care less what color the president is. They could be purple polka-dotted and it wouldn’t matter to me. But I thought free speech and dissent were what made this country great? Or is that only if you’re not a republican/conservative? What about the first amendment? Or is the Constitution simply being ignored?
We’re in a war and Obama’s budget only gives military personal a 2.9% pay increase, which isn’t even in line with COLA (cost of living adjustments) yet provides an 18% pay increase to District of Columbia Foreign Service Officers.
Citibank got a taxpayer bailout, and yet their plans to go through with naming of the new Mets Stadium to the tune of 400M aren’t being postponed or cancelled.
When the world stops this crazy double standard; when it’s not all upside down, backwards and sideways; when politicians begin to practice what they preach, well then that will be CHANGE I can believe in.
I was wondering if someone would take on Obama’s catch phrase. Bravo! I’m a Dem, but it doesn’t mean I wasn’t thinking the same thing when he did his State of the Union address. A lot of clapping for each other and a lot of tightening the belts, but every politician in that room is going home to a cozy home by way of their appointed drivers and is secure in the knowledge that as long as they don’t murder or steal, their job is safe. No pink slips there. Meanwhile a majority of the people watching have been hit hard by the economy. The irony did not pass me by. You’re linked!
You should run for a poltical office. I would vote for you.
Thanks Rach!
Jen- Irony it is indeed.
I couldn’t agree more, and this morning I said to my husband, “Does that mean the more money you make, the more taxes you pay, to help poor people?” I’m not rich. But it pisses me off that rich people have to pay more taxes just because they have worked their asses off and they made it.
I don’t know much about politics, but I do know what I believe to be right from wrong, and I have no answers or solutions, but some of this stuff they do and want to do sounds like total bull cucky.
Bina- would you consider yourself to be rich if you and your husband brought in income of 250,000/year? This article shows that you’ll still get taxed higher even if you don’t make that much. I don’t consider someone making 250k/year to be rich. Comfortable maybe. But what did they do to be able to make that much? Are they a doctor who still has student loans to pay, a stock broker, who has to pay for insurance so as to cover their tail when they do wrong, a lawyer, a bank VP? What? I feel like success is being punished. And it frustrates me.
You give (write) a good speech, my dear! 😉
I finally did the purse tag! Thanks, it was fun. I got a little carried away, LOL!
Have a great weekend!
Hmmm…in case no one noticed, China DOES own this country. I think both parties are equally to blame for all this mess, and I go with the inimitable Roan Paul as far as the military goes: We don’t need a bigger military, we need a better foreign policy. Nice rant, though.
Truman- there’s a good chance no one has noticed that China owns us. Out of curiosity, what would you have our foreign policy become? And if you’ll notice, I said politicians- because I think there are people on both sides that are completely out of control.
I just wanted to clarify one point you raise: the pay raise voted on was NOT an 18% raise to District of Columbia Foreign Service Officers. It was to keep Foreign Service Officers from taking an 18% pay CUT when we go overseas.
Currently, EVERY federal employee serving overseas EXCEPT mid-level foreign service officers keep their base salary at the Washington, DC rate. Government salaries are all set at a certain “base pay” with a certain percentage added to it depending on how expensive the city is to live in. So all federal employees living in DC receive 18% above that base.
When a federal employee is sent overseas, the DC salary is considered their base pay unless they are a mid-level foreign service officer. Senior level foreign service officers, the ones with the highest salaries, get their DC pay. Federal employees with other agencies, including the CIA, Agricultural Service, etc, get their DC pay. ONLY mid-level foreign service officers take an 18% cut when they go overseas. Yet they still have to pay their mortgages here, or at least the part not covered by any rent they can collect if they can rent it).
There is a good illustration of the issue here: http://diplopundit.blogspot.com/2009/01/overseas-pay-gap-illustrated.html
AMEN!! Well said!