Tuesday, June 13, 2006

How did I end up...

...Registered as a member of the Republican Party (GOP)? Everyone that knows me personally knows that I cannot in good conscience register myself with either party! Although I firmly believe in personal responsibility, the right to bear arms and that government be fiscally responsible most of the time, I also believe in pro-choice, and that Government should be a "safety net" (meaning in times of hardships, Government should give a "hand-up" to folks--note this is NOT a "hand out"!). Also, taxes need to be fair (meaning the Middle Class, myself included, shouldn't be bearing most of the costs!) for everyone. The rich should pay a bit more because they can afford it but they shouldn't be punished for being successful. Estate taxes should be on anything over $10 Million (and possibly adjust it every few years for inflation), with no loopholes. Come on, if your estate is that big, then what are you doing??? You can't take it with you, so why not live a great life and help out the rest of your family and close friends while you're doing it?

When the last set of Bush tax cuts came down, someone said that the poor got a "happy meal", the middle class got a "nice dinner for a family-of-4", while the rich "got a lexus, a condo and some servants to go along with it". I can't agree with that. That along with the fact that he then spent us into a major hole of a deficit. Bush should have used some of his own common sense that when you increase spending but cut taxes, you have got to come up with the money from somewhere. I refuse to let my future kids and grandkids pay for his mistakes! Let President Bush and his cronies pay for it.

To those of you who feel a consumption based tax is fairest, I'll say this. I don't mind consumption based taxation so long as you DO NOT tax basic foods bought in a grocery store! You can tax restaurant food (and I include fast food as well as street vending and convenience stores in this) all you want, because you're paying for a service. But when you tax basic staples like milk and bread, you punish the poorest folks who can barely afford to put that food on the table by taxing them. Go ahead and tax liquor, soda, beer, etc., because those in lower income brackets who really want to feed their families shouldn't be buying those things on a regular basis anyway. As someone who has seen poverty, middle class and extravagant wealth (and everything in between), I think that's the closest thing to fair that I can come up with. If you think you can convince me otherwise, go ahead and post a reply! After all, I know I'm not the best mind out there, but at least I have some ideas!

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Anonymous comments are allowed, just keep them clean, o.k. However, due to the amount of "ad postings" that I have deleted lately, I've had to add a verification word before you can post, sorry.