Intro

It's time for a reality check ...

Maybe we’ve reached the point of diminishing astonishment.

But I suspect that much of what we’re hammered with every day really doesn’t make much of an impact on most of us anymore. We’ve heard the same stories too often. We’ve been exposed to the same issues for so long without any meaningful resolution. We recognize that reality is rapidly becoming malleable, primarily in the hands of whoever has the biggest microphone. How else can we explain a society where myth asserts itself as reality, based entirely how many hits it gets online?

We know that many of the “issues” as defined are pure crapola, hyped by politicians on both sides pandering to “the will of the people,” which is still more crapola. Inevitably, it’s not the will of all the people they reflect, but the will of relatively small groups of people with disproportionate political influence.

Nobody wants to face up to the realities of the issues. Nobody wants to say what’s right or wrong – even when it’s obvious and there are numbers to back it up. Most of us are afraid to bring up the realities for fear of being accused of being insensitive or downright mean.

So we say nothing. Until now.

It’s time for a reality check on the fundamentals – much of which is common knowledge to many of us, already. But it might be comforting to know you are not alone …

Monday, March 26, 2012


      “Tax the rich but don’t tax me” doesn’t work
There will never be enough money coming in to satisfy everyone who wants something from the government.  Intuitively, we all know that.  But politicians and the public will always want something more for free.  And also someone else to pay for that free stuff.     
 
Most of us know that “the rich” are already paying the lion’s share of taxes – as they pretty much have for decades.  A lot of politicians and the media like to point out that 60% of the public is in favor of the rich paying even higher taxes – their “fair share,” according to some. 

However, the real problem is not that the rich aren’t paying enough; it’s that so many Americans aren’t paying any Federal income taxes at all. 

That’s not because people are poor, but because Congress has created so many tax credits, exemptions and other breaks to reduce taxes effectively to zero for up to 47% of all taxpayers; in fact, the majority of those tax breaks go to the middle class. 

Meanwhile Congress continues to spend more than the Feds collect in revenue primarily because politicians love to bask in the glow of giving free stuff away to their constituents, as well as to appear to be “doing something” about a problem by throwing money at it. 

So both sides – revenue and spending – have to be addressed.  Increasing revenue is always easier for politicians to deal with – just raise taxes – but on whom?  Right now, the target is the “rich” because it’s always easier to demonize them than to face reality.

The simple answer is not just higher taxes on the rich; there aren’t enough “rich” to make that much of a difference, even if you took 100% of their money. 

The honest answer is that everybody needs to pay more taxes, as long as Congress keeps spending more and more. 

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