Wednesday, January 09, 2008

Let's tax the rich

I have an idea...let's raise taxes on the 10% most wealthy people in the US. I would bet that, say, 90% of US citizens would agree with that. That should work! Let's use the money to help the lower and middle class. Perhaps we can have school lunches or send the kids to college. But wait...the congressmen who could pass that law are in that 10% most wealthy. I guess it won't happen. We could convince them to do it - we're their constituents, after all. We voted for them. Oh, but then some rich people would give them large donations and subtlely suggest that they don't pass the law. And the corporations at which those rich people are CEOs would also donate money. And the Republicans would somehow convince the lower class that this "Robin Hood" law of robbing the rich and giving to the poor isn't fair, put some completely unrelated religious issue on the ballot, and get another Republican voted into the White House!

Sorry, went off on a tangent there.

What's so funny? Our forefathers started this country to get away from religious persecution and taxation without representation. They wanted a government that was elected by the people, for the people. Our government is elected by the people* but I don't think it's for the people. And the government wants to impose its religious agenda on everyone through the laws and the Supreme Court. Unless I'm really wrong about Americans, in which case maybe I'm living in the wrong country.

- schneid

* Exception: 2000 US presidential election when the president was elected by the Supreme Court.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

That is pretty much what Kerry suggested doing in his run for the White House. Raising the taxes only on the wealthy upper percentage of Americans (I don't remember what percentage his suggestion was) and leaving the middle and lower classes alone. I still can't believe 51% of Americans voted for Bush!