Now is the time in the United States where we will get a year and a half of Political BS from the politicians.
This is a tradition in America, it is a multi-billion dollar a year industry, an economic driver in itself. They are all lying, of course, both sides and the "independents" and just everyone. We are lied to and attach blame to
how we got into this mess and we are lied to any way out of it. We form opinions based on distortion, fired with emotion. The easiest way is to obfuscate the issues with hatred.
We don't teach literature anymore, or ethics or even logical thinking. We know nothing about economics;
we don't even know our own history. And we Vote! Politics today is a bit like "American Idol" and this seems to be okay with us.
Henry Ford had it right. 100 years ago he invented the assembly line, mass manufacturing and ushering in the era of modern industry. One key to his success created the rise of the American Middle Class. He paid his workers enough that they could afford to buy what they were making. Pretty simple arithmetic.
These were the days, and they lasted for almost one hundred years, where a CEO of a company made about six times the wages of their average worker. Now that figure is thousands of times and in some cases
with stock options and bonuses, millions of times!
I am not discussing what is fair here or whether these people really work that hard, this is only a discussion about math. Money is not printed on demand, there is only so much available. If one person is getting a LOT, someone else is getting less. It would make no difference if the money were all taxed at the same rate and if the money stayed here and continued to circulate, eventually "trickling down" so everyone could have a chance at it. But that is not how it works, not today anyway. Money is shipped overseas, invested in foreign manufacturing, off shore bank accounts and otherwise hidden and taken out of circulation.
We STILL offer tax incentives to the oil companies as if Billions of dollars a month in profits weren't enough!
We STILL offer tax incentive to the mega-farmers, giant chemical corporations and others. "Mega money"
before the loopholes are figured in is taxed at 15%. General Motors paid NOTHING! There are a lot of loopholes! This money is NOT taxed for social security, Not taxed for Medicare.
Why is this kind of wealth so sacred? ONE simple tax would solve our budget problems and offer a surplus. Close the loopholes and have a 3% tax on money OVER 100,000 dollars, or $200,000 for a family of four. What would be the down side to this? Do you think they would quit working in protest?
Congress will get the money somewhere but they won't cut their wages or their benefits. One term in Congress and you have benefits forever! That is a pretty good deal. I should have gone into politics!
This is a tradition in America, it is a multi-billion dollar a year industry, an economic driver in itself. They are all lying, of course, both sides and the "independents" and just everyone. We are lied to and attach blame to
how we got into this mess and we are lied to any way out of it. We form opinions based on distortion, fired with emotion. The easiest way is to obfuscate the issues with hatred.
We don't teach literature anymore, or ethics or even logical thinking. We know nothing about economics;
we don't even know our own history. And we Vote! Politics today is a bit like "American Idol" and this seems to be okay with us.
Henry Ford had it right. 100 years ago he invented the assembly line, mass manufacturing and ushering in the era of modern industry. One key to his success created the rise of the American Middle Class. He paid his workers enough that they could afford to buy what they were making. Pretty simple arithmetic.
These were the days, and they lasted for almost one hundred years, where a CEO of a company made about six times the wages of their average worker. Now that figure is thousands of times and in some cases
with stock options and bonuses, millions of times!
I am not discussing what is fair here or whether these people really work that hard, this is only a discussion about math. Money is not printed on demand, there is only so much available. If one person is getting a LOT, someone else is getting less. It would make no difference if the money were all taxed at the same rate and if the money stayed here and continued to circulate, eventually "trickling down" so everyone could have a chance at it. But that is not how it works, not today anyway. Money is shipped overseas, invested in foreign manufacturing, off shore bank accounts and otherwise hidden and taken out of circulation.
We STILL offer tax incentives to the oil companies as if Billions of dollars a month in profits weren't enough!
We STILL offer tax incentive to the mega-farmers, giant chemical corporations and others. "Mega money"
before the loopholes are figured in is taxed at 15%. General Motors paid NOTHING! There are a lot of loopholes! This money is NOT taxed for social security, Not taxed for Medicare.
Why is this kind of wealth so sacred? ONE simple tax would solve our budget problems and offer a surplus. Close the loopholes and have a 3% tax on money OVER 100,000 dollars, or $200,000 for a family of four. What would be the down side to this? Do you think they would quit working in protest?
Congress will get the money somewhere but they won't cut their wages or their benefits. One term in Congress and you have benefits forever! That is a pretty good deal. I should have gone into politics!
3 comments:
Politics is a lose lose situation, really. Sometimes I wish we could chuck it all and start over.
AutumnLeaves, thanks for your bravery in commenting on one of my "political" posts!!! I think "lose, lose" is not voting and not caring, leaving it up to others. It is a good thing that nothing happens fast in our country. We have opportunity to make corrections along the way. It is all about direction, do we go this way or that way? and how do we get there? and, really, can we afford it?
I find the "voting" issue rather frustrating. My votes don't seem to have much impact, at least not lately. But I keep doing it, rather like buying lottery tickets (and you know how often one strikes it rich there). Maybe I should just run for office???? LOL
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