Politicians on both sides are using inflammatory rhetoric to convince people that our country has failed, and only they can make it great again.
I take great offense to that. America has been, will be, and STILL IS the greatest country on Earth. We may not be #1 on everything. Every country has something special going for it. But it is the totality of our freedoms, our economic prosperity, our diversity, our heritage, and our military strength together that makes this country great.
These candidates are not running for King. They are running for the office of Chief Executive, whose main job is to execute (hence the title, “Executive”) the laws passed by Congress. No one man is going to single-handedly solve all of our problems on Day One. I can’t remember any speeches by any of our greatest leaders ever blanket-condemning the other party. Our greatest Presidents spent their time bringing us together, not tearing us apart.
We do have issues that need addressing. But the only real way to solve any of them is for level-headed people from both sides to sit down together, compromise, and come up with solutions that will work for everybody. A true leader will act as mediator and unite our people, not divide them further.
Sadly, I don’t see a single candidate running today that has 10% of the character and integrity of Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, Lincoln, Kennedy, or either of the Roosevelts.
Monday, February 29, 2016
Saturday, February 27, 2016
Immigration Reform
Over 100 years ago, in 1907, Theodore Roosevelt, one of our greatest Presidents, said:
“In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person's becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American ... There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag ... We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language ... and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people.”
It was drilled into us throughout middle and high school social studies classes that the United States is a “Melting Pot”. We are not made up of a single race, nationality, or class or people. We are Italians, English, French, Greek, Irish, Scottish, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, Korean, Indians, and much more. Let’s not forget that all of us are immigrants or descended from immigrants. Even the “Native Americans” can over from Asia via the land bridge many moons ago.
It is this heterogeneous mixture that gives us our strength. We are a diverse group of people who have united for a common cause. We need to maintain our diversity to maintain our strength. And that means welcoming good, hard-working people into our country who want to join us.
Right now, our immigration system is a complete mess. All these candidates keep bringing up that there are 11 million illegal immigrants here today. But what the always fail to mention is that it is virtually impossible for many people to get in legally. Even if you have family already here, it can take over twenty years to get legal approval to immigrant here. If you do not have a connection with someone already here, your chances of getting in are virtually zero. That is just ridiculous!
We need people who will make our country better. So, if you have a clean criminal record, and are willing to come here, obey our laws, get a job and work hard, and learn to speak, read, and write English, you should be welcome. You must learn our culture and our language. After all, it is you who are coming to our country, so don’t expect us to change for you. But, just like every drop of dye added to a can of paint will slightly change that can, we know that we will also benefit from the culture that you bring to us.
Non-citizen residents of our country should NOT be eligible for Food Stamps, Medicare, Medicaid, or other types of welfare and government assistance. A felony conviction should result in immediate deportation, after you serve your sentence, of course. If they want to become citizens, and we should encourage this, they should be able after five years. (This is the current law.)
We desperately need immigration reform, and here is how I would do it:
First, we need to control our borders. People who want to come into our country need to do so through legal means. But I seriously doubt a $12 billion dollar wall will stop all the illegals. A ten foot wall can be defeated with a twelve foot ladder. Or a tunnel. What is needed is better surveillance technology to detect border crossings, and many more border guards to ensure a swift, physical response. The E-Verify program to be used by Employers is a great idea.
Second, we need to provide a better system for entering our country legally. Immigrating legally should be a short and easy process. If you meet the basic requirements, agree to our terms, and have either sufficient funds to take care of yourself or have a sponsor who will help you get started, welcome aboard!
We must also address the issue of the 11 million people who are here illegally right now. Most of these people are hard-working, and have jobs. Many have families here, and many have children who are U.S. Citizens. Deporting them is ludicrous. They should be required to come forward and register, pay any back-taxes they may owe, and pay a fine. They must agree to live under the same terms as those entering the U.S. legally. And No Welfare! AFTER that have paid their back taxes and fines, the Five Year clock should start, and they should be eligible for citizenship just as anyone else.
Think about it this way: It takes a very driven individual to leave a country where he was born and raised, and move to a place where he has to learn an entirely new culture and a new language. A place where he is not made to feel welcome. As a non-citizen, he will be at a disadvantage, and will not have the opportunities the rest of us take for granted. He has to agree to terms, such as being told that he has to get and maintain a job or else be deported, that we would never agree to ourselves. Even with all of this, these people want to live here.
It seems to me that these people love America better than many of our own citizens.
With 11 million illegals, there are bound to be some bad apples. And when one commits a crime, the media blows it all out of proportion. But, for the most part, the illegal aliens in this country are probably better behaved as a group than our own citizens. For they know that if they get caught even for a minor crime, they will lose everything that they have worked for.
There is the argument that these immigrants are taking jobs away from Americans. But to what extent? For the most part, immigrants take the jobs here that no one wants. Even Donald Trump admitted during the last debate that he has hired illegal aliens to work at his hotels because he could not find Americans willing to fill the positions he was offering. Most of the immigrants coming to our country are young and will work hard for many years. They take the low-paying jobs that nobody else wants. Many of these people used fake social security numbers to get their jobs. That means that they are having taxes taken out of their pay each week that they will never benefit from. They are paying INTO social security and Medicare, but will never get the benefits from those programs.
When Social Security was created just beforer WWII, it was estimated that 10 people would be paying into it for every person receiving benefits. Now, there are only three people paying into for each person taking out. This is due not only to people living longer, but also to the fact that our workforce is aging. In 1992, the average age of U.S. workers was 38 years. Now, it is 42 years.Our workforce needs revitalization! Immigrant workers will help reduce our average workforce age, and help stabilize the Social Security system.
Right now, the fertility rate in the U.S. is 1.88 births per female. We need a rate of at least 2.1 just to sustain our population. Since we are below that rate, it means that our population would be shrinking if it were not for immigrants.
We DO need immigration reform. We have needed it for many years. But our current system, as flawed as it is, has not destroyed our country. The 11 million illegal aliens here provide a labor force that we cannot do without. The contributions they make to our society offset many of the problems they cause. The Immigration problem is nowhere near our most pressing issue. ISIS, the Economy, Health Care, and Education are far more important to us right now.
Donald Trump and Ted Cruz have chosen to make Immigration Reform a major issue. WHY? Rule 101 in Politics is to gain supporters by giving them a common enemy. Illegal Immigrants make a great scapegoat. They can’t defend themselves. They ARE breaking the law. So, let’s make them the cause of all of our problems. Blame them for our shortcomings. We all want to believe that somebody else is to blame for whatever ails us.
Trump himself admits that Immigration was not a major issue until he made it one. That’s one of the points he keeps shouting out to Ted Cruz during the debates. But now that Trump and Cruz have made this the central issue, they have used it to propel themselves to the top of the pack.
It’s a proven strategy that works. It certainly worked for Hitler.
“In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person's becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American ... There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag ... We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language ... and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people.”
It was drilled into us throughout middle and high school social studies classes that the United States is a “Melting Pot”. We are not made up of a single race, nationality, or class or people. We are Italians, English, French, Greek, Irish, Scottish, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, Korean, Indians, and much more. Let’s not forget that all of us are immigrants or descended from immigrants. Even the “Native Americans” can over from Asia via the land bridge many moons ago.
It is this heterogeneous mixture that gives us our strength. We are a diverse group of people who have united for a common cause. We need to maintain our diversity to maintain our strength. And that means welcoming good, hard-working people into our country who want to join us.
Right now, our immigration system is a complete mess. All these candidates keep bringing up that there are 11 million illegal immigrants here today. But what the always fail to mention is that it is virtually impossible for many people to get in legally. Even if you have family already here, it can take over twenty years to get legal approval to immigrant here. If you do not have a connection with someone already here, your chances of getting in are virtually zero. That is just ridiculous!
We need people who will make our country better. So, if you have a clean criminal record, and are willing to come here, obey our laws, get a job and work hard, and learn to speak, read, and write English, you should be welcome. You must learn our culture and our language. After all, it is you who are coming to our country, so don’t expect us to change for you. But, just like every drop of dye added to a can of paint will slightly change that can, we know that we will also benefit from the culture that you bring to us.
Non-citizen residents of our country should NOT be eligible for Food Stamps, Medicare, Medicaid, or other types of welfare and government assistance. A felony conviction should result in immediate deportation, after you serve your sentence, of course. If they want to become citizens, and we should encourage this, they should be able after five years. (This is the current law.)
We desperately need immigration reform, and here is how I would do it:
First, we need to control our borders. People who want to come into our country need to do so through legal means. But I seriously doubt a $12 billion dollar wall will stop all the illegals. A ten foot wall can be defeated with a twelve foot ladder. Or a tunnel. What is needed is better surveillance technology to detect border crossings, and many more border guards to ensure a swift, physical response. The E-Verify program to be used by Employers is a great idea.
Second, we need to provide a better system for entering our country legally. Immigrating legally should be a short and easy process. If you meet the basic requirements, agree to our terms, and have either sufficient funds to take care of yourself or have a sponsor who will help you get started, welcome aboard!
We must also address the issue of the 11 million people who are here illegally right now. Most of these people are hard-working, and have jobs. Many have families here, and many have children who are U.S. Citizens. Deporting them is ludicrous. They should be required to come forward and register, pay any back-taxes they may owe, and pay a fine. They must agree to live under the same terms as those entering the U.S. legally. And No Welfare! AFTER that have paid their back taxes and fines, the Five Year clock should start, and they should be eligible for citizenship just as anyone else.
Think about it this way: It takes a very driven individual to leave a country where he was born and raised, and move to a place where he has to learn an entirely new culture and a new language. A place where he is not made to feel welcome. As a non-citizen, he will be at a disadvantage, and will not have the opportunities the rest of us take for granted. He has to agree to terms, such as being told that he has to get and maintain a job or else be deported, that we would never agree to ourselves. Even with all of this, these people want to live here.
It seems to me that these people love America better than many of our own citizens.
With 11 million illegals, there are bound to be some bad apples. And when one commits a crime, the media blows it all out of proportion. But, for the most part, the illegal aliens in this country are probably better behaved as a group than our own citizens. For they know that if they get caught even for a minor crime, they will lose everything that they have worked for.
There is the argument that these immigrants are taking jobs away from Americans. But to what extent? For the most part, immigrants take the jobs here that no one wants. Even Donald Trump admitted during the last debate that he has hired illegal aliens to work at his hotels because he could not find Americans willing to fill the positions he was offering. Most of the immigrants coming to our country are young and will work hard for many years. They take the low-paying jobs that nobody else wants. Many of these people used fake social security numbers to get their jobs. That means that they are having taxes taken out of their pay each week that they will never benefit from. They are paying INTO social security and Medicare, but will never get the benefits from those programs.
When Social Security was created just beforer WWII, it was estimated that 10 people would be paying into it for every person receiving benefits. Now, there are only three people paying into for each person taking out. This is due not only to people living longer, but also to the fact that our workforce is aging. In 1992, the average age of U.S. workers was 38 years. Now, it is 42 years.Our workforce needs revitalization! Immigrant workers will help reduce our average workforce age, and help stabilize the Social Security system.
Right now, the fertility rate in the U.S. is 1.88 births per female. We need a rate of at least 2.1 just to sustain our population. Since we are below that rate, it means that our population would be shrinking if it were not for immigrants.
We DO need immigration reform. We have needed it for many years. But our current system, as flawed as it is, has not destroyed our country. The 11 million illegal aliens here provide a labor force that we cannot do without. The contributions they make to our society offset many of the problems they cause. The Immigration problem is nowhere near our most pressing issue. ISIS, the Economy, Health Care, and Education are far more important to us right now.
Donald Trump and Ted Cruz have chosen to make Immigration Reform a major issue. WHY? Rule 101 in Politics is to gain supporters by giving them a common enemy. Illegal Immigrants make a great scapegoat. They can’t defend themselves. They ARE breaking the law. So, let’s make them the cause of all of our problems. Blame them for our shortcomings. We all want to believe that somebody else is to blame for whatever ails us.
Trump himself admits that Immigration was not a major issue until he made it one. That’s one of the points he keeps shouting out to Ted Cruz during the debates. But now that Trump and Cruz have made this the central issue, they have used it to propel themselves to the top of the pack.
It’s a proven strategy that works. It certainly worked for Hitler.
Tuesday, February 16, 2016
Appointing a new Justice
When our country suffered a great loss Saturday with the death of Antonin Scalia, it was sad, but not surprising, that many politicians immediately made the choice of his successor a political issue.
Most Republicans are calling for Obama to NOT appoint a successor and leave that decision to the next President. THEY ARE WRONG! I am ashamed of every one of them. Current Senators who are stating that they will not confirm ANY Obama appointments should be impeached for violating the oath to the Constitution that they took when they assumed their office.
It is vitally important that we appoint a new justice as soon as possible, for a couple of reasons:
First, the next President will not take office for over 11 months. To allow such an important post to be vacant for almost a full year will be a disgrace.
Second, and more importantly, it is imperative that the new justice be a person of integrity, who will follow the Constitution and the laws of our country when deciding cases, and not let political concerns guide his or her decisions. Frankly, I have my doubts that either Republicans or Democrats have the political courage to put aside politics and choose the best candidate.
Right now, the Court is pretty well divided between liberals and conservatives. We need a non-partisan justice with integrity to take Scalia’s place. What we do NOT need is a radical liberal or a radical conservative.
One of a President’s most important duties is to appoint Supreme Court Justices. With the Republican controlled Senate, there is no chance a liberal candidate will be confirmed. So, if Obama wants to do his duty and appoint someone who will actually get confirmed, he must carefully choose a candidate that has a record of following the law and setting aside political issues. The contrasting desires between the Democratic President and Republican-controlled Senate will ensure proper vetting for any proposed candidate.
On the other hand, if we wait until after the election, it is possible that both the Presidency and Senate will be controlled by a single party. This would allow the party in power to push through whatever radical justice they desire, with no true vetting. A lop-sided Supreme Court packed with justices that put politics above the law would be a disaster for this country regardless of what side they lean. If the election results in different parties controlling the Presidency and the Senate, then we will be in the same position that we are in now, but we will have wasted a year.
I am calling on Obama and the Senate to put your political differences aside, and to remember that you are AMERICANS first, and follow the oath that you took when you were elected to your office. In case you forgot, that oath requires your loyalty be to the Constitution, not to your political parties.
Sunday, February 14, 2016
United We Stand
Throughout my school days, we were taught how America was the “melting pot”. Our country is completely made is up of immigrants from other countries. Even the “Native Americans” immigrated here over the land bridge from Russia thousands of years ago. It is this very make up of many different peoples that gives our country its strength.
No other country in World History has been as diverse as we, and it is that diversity that allowed our country to grow from a few scattered colonies to the greatest nation on Earth in only 200 years.
The first rule of warfare is to divide and conquer. Because we are such a diverse population, it is very difficult to find a single line that can divide us. And as long as we stay united, we cannot be defeated. Indeed, the lowest points in our history are those few times that something caused a major division in our country. The biggest, of course, was the issue of States Rights and Slavery, and that division led to the Civil War. A war that resulted in more casualties that all of our other wars combined. We faced another divide in the sixties over civil rights and the Vietnam War. That divide, of course, paled in comparison to the one a hundred years earlier, but it still threw our country into fifteen years of turmoil.
The only other nation that rivaled ours was the Soviet Union. For almost 50 years, it was the only other Super Power. But let’s not forget that we did not defeat the Soviet Union; they failed from within. They failed when their unity collapsed. And let’s not forget that collapse happened virtually overnight.
I am very concerned that several of the candidates running today, (specifically, Trump, Cruz, and Sanders) are leading us down another slippery slope of division. This division could easily become the greatest crisis facing our country today, for the only enemy who can ever truly defeat America is ourselves.
We need a leader that will unite our country; not divide it.
This attitude where the Republicans are against everything the Democrats stand for, and where the Democrats are against everything the Republicans stand for has got to stop.
Democrats blaming George W. Bush for all of the problems we face now is nonsense. George W. Bush is a good and decent man who lead our nation through its darkest hour in the past 60 years. His policies kept us safe after September 11. But he was wrong about the existence of WMD’s in Iraq. But being wrong does not mean he lied. We all believed that Iraq had WMD’s at that time. It turned out that we all were wrong. In hindsight, maybe the Iraq War was a mistake. Maybe not. Only time will tell.
Equally nonsensical is the Republicans going around saying Obama has destroyed America over the past seven years. Barrack Obama is also a good and decent man who is doing the best he can do in an impossible job; a job made even more difficult because the Republicans have opposed almost every single thing he has said or done, regardless of its merits. Even the Democrats supported W. on many of his issues. Our economy is in much better shape than it was seven years ago. Obamacare has allowed millions of people to obtain healthcare when they previously were unable to. On the other hand, I feel that his foreign policies have weakened our country.
As our first Black President, Obama was in a unique position to help heal the racial divide that has been present here for some many decades. Unfortunately, in this aspect, he has failed miserably. Racial relations are at their worst since the 60’s. Our police are being attacked. We all seem to have forgotten that, as President, Obama is not only Commander in Chief of the Military, he is also our country’s Top Cop. (Law Enforcement falls under the Executive department, and the President is head the Executive department.) While he has no direct control over state and local law enforcement agencies, examples of proper leadership would trickle down.
Because we are such a diverse nation, we will never elect a President who reflects all of our views. Hell, there is not a candidate running now that even reflects all of my own views, and I am just one person. I have not made a decision on who I would support. Every candidate has some ideas which I fully support, and every candidate has a taken a position on some topics which I fully oppose.
In the end, I will vote for the candidate, regardless of his or her party, that I feel has the strong leadership skills, the character, and the integrity, to best heal this growing division in our country today. And I pray that you will, too.
No other country in World History has been as diverse as we, and it is that diversity that allowed our country to grow from a few scattered colonies to the greatest nation on Earth in only 200 years.
The first rule of warfare is to divide and conquer. Because we are such a diverse population, it is very difficult to find a single line that can divide us. And as long as we stay united, we cannot be defeated. Indeed, the lowest points in our history are those few times that something caused a major division in our country. The biggest, of course, was the issue of States Rights and Slavery, and that division led to the Civil War. A war that resulted in more casualties that all of our other wars combined. We faced another divide in the sixties over civil rights and the Vietnam War. That divide, of course, paled in comparison to the one a hundred years earlier, but it still threw our country into fifteen years of turmoil.
The only other nation that rivaled ours was the Soviet Union. For almost 50 years, it was the only other Super Power. But let’s not forget that we did not defeat the Soviet Union; they failed from within. They failed when their unity collapsed. And let’s not forget that collapse happened virtually overnight.
I am very concerned that several of the candidates running today, (specifically, Trump, Cruz, and Sanders) are leading us down another slippery slope of division. This division could easily become the greatest crisis facing our country today, for the only enemy who can ever truly defeat America is ourselves.
We need a leader that will unite our country; not divide it.
This attitude where the Republicans are against everything the Democrats stand for, and where the Democrats are against everything the Republicans stand for has got to stop.
Democrats blaming George W. Bush for all of the problems we face now is nonsense. George W. Bush is a good and decent man who lead our nation through its darkest hour in the past 60 years. His policies kept us safe after September 11. But he was wrong about the existence of WMD’s in Iraq. But being wrong does not mean he lied. We all believed that Iraq had WMD’s at that time. It turned out that we all were wrong. In hindsight, maybe the Iraq War was a mistake. Maybe not. Only time will tell.
Equally nonsensical is the Republicans going around saying Obama has destroyed America over the past seven years. Barrack Obama is also a good and decent man who is doing the best he can do in an impossible job; a job made even more difficult because the Republicans have opposed almost every single thing he has said or done, regardless of its merits. Even the Democrats supported W. on many of his issues. Our economy is in much better shape than it was seven years ago. Obamacare has allowed millions of people to obtain healthcare when they previously were unable to. On the other hand, I feel that his foreign policies have weakened our country.
As our first Black President, Obama was in a unique position to help heal the racial divide that has been present here for some many decades. Unfortunately, in this aspect, he has failed miserably. Racial relations are at their worst since the 60’s. Our police are being attacked. We all seem to have forgotten that, as President, Obama is not only Commander in Chief of the Military, he is also our country’s Top Cop. (Law Enforcement falls under the Executive department, and the President is head the Executive department.) While he has no direct control over state and local law enforcement agencies, examples of proper leadership would trickle down.
Because we are such a diverse nation, we will never elect a President who reflects all of our views. Hell, there is not a candidate running now that even reflects all of my own views, and I am just one person. I have not made a decision on who I would support. Every candidate has some ideas which I fully support, and every candidate has a taken a position on some topics which I fully oppose.
In the end, I will vote for the candidate, regardless of his or her party, that I feel has the strong leadership skills, the character, and the integrity, to best heal this growing division in our country today. And I pray that you will, too.
Sunday, February 7, 2016
Your Fair Share
The growing gap between the richest and the poorest in this country concerns me greatly. I believe that the mega-corporations and banks have far too much power today, and that some, if not most, of them are misusing that power. But that is a topic for another day.
Today I am going to rant about the rich paying their fair share.
I shudder every time I hear a Politician shout out that the rich need to pay their fair share. The top 10% of Americans already pay over 70% of all of the Income taxes collected each year, while the bottom 45% of Americans pay no Income taxes at all. 30 Years ago, the top 10% paid 55% of all of the Income taxes collected that year.
One of the most basic of our founding principles is that all men are created equal. One person. One vote. When it’s election time, Bill Gates gets one vote. Warren Buffett gets one vote. You get one vote. I get one vote. So how is it fair that 70% of the Income taxes are paid by the rich and almost half of everybody else pays nothing? (Maybe if everybody actually had an extra 10% or 20% taken out of their paycheck every week for taxes, then maybe the general public would be more concerned about the out-of-control Federal spending and decide to do something about it! But I digress….)
The truth is that the rich pay far more than their fair share. They always have and they always will. Total Income taxes collected last year were 1.5 trillion dollars. That comes to over $5,000 for every man, women, and child in this country, or around $12,000 per household. I know I did not pay nearly that much in Federal income taxes. But the money has to come from somewhere, and that somewhere is the Rich.
And still, Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton are demanding that we raise taxes on the rich because they are not paying their fair share! What a crock!
The government costs a lot of money to operate, and most of that money will come from the rich. The poor simply don’t have it to pay even if they wanted to.
It is very likely that taxes will have to be raised in the future, and I am not saying that they shouldn’t be. But it will be the rich who bear the brunt of those increases.
So let’s get off our high horse and stop trying to justify raising taxes on the rich because they are not paying their “fair share”. Let’s just be honest and say we need more of your money to fund our lifestyles. Or, and by the way: Thanks!
While we on the subject of the evil and greedy rich who don’t pay their fair share, consider what these richest of the rich did with the money that they didn't pay in taxes:
Andrew Carnegie used his wealth to build over two thousand five hundred libraries throughout the World. By 1919, near HALF of the all of the libraries in the United States were built with funds provided by Carnegie.
John D. Rockefeller gave away approximately $540 million (over $10 billion in today’s dollars) before his death in 1937 at the age of 97. With that money, he created two of the world’s greatest research universities, helped pull the American South out of chronic poverty, educated legions of African Americans, jump started medical research, and dramatically improved health around the globe.
Gordon Moore, founder of Intel, has given away almost $7 billion.
Facebook Founder Mark Zuckerberg has pledged to give away at least half of his wealth, and has already given over $500 million.
Warren Buffet has pledged to give away 99% of all his wealth, and has already given away $23 billion dollars.
Finally, Bill Gates leads them all with over $28 billion dollars already donated.
Today I am going to rant about the rich paying their fair share.
I shudder every time I hear a Politician shout out that the rich need to pay their fair share. The top 10% of Americans already pay over 70% of all of the Income taxes collected each year, while the bottom 45% of Americans pay no Income taxes at all. 30 Years ago, the top 10% paid 55% of all of the Income taxes collected that year.
One of the most basic of our founding principles is that all men are created equal. One person. One vote. When it’s election time, Bill Gates gets one vote. Warren Buffett gets one vote. You get one vote. I get one vote. So how is it fair that 70% of the Income taxes are paid by the rich and almost half of everybody else pays nothing? (Maybe if everybody actually had an extra 10% or 20% taken out of their paycheck every week for taxes, then maybe the general public would be more concerned about the out-of-control Federal spending and decide to do something about it! But I digress….)
The truth is that the rich pay far more than their fair share. They always have and they always will. Total Income taxes collected last year were 1.5 trillion dollars. That comes to over $5,000 for every man, women, and child in this country, or around $12,000 per household. I know I did not pay nearly that much in Federal income taxes. But the money has to come from somewhere, and that somewhere is the Rich.
And still, Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton are demanding that we raise taxes on the rich because they are not paying their fair share! What a crock!
The government costs a lot of money to operate, and most of that money will come from the rich. The poor simply don’t have it to pay even if they wanted to.
It is very likely that taxes will have to be raised in the future, and I am not saying that they shouldn’t be. But it will be the rich who bear the brunt of those increases.
So let’s get off our high horse and stop trying to justify raising taxes on the rich because they are not paying their “fair share”. Let’s just be honest and say we need more of your money to fund our lifestyles. Or, and by the way: Thanks!
While we on the subject of the evil and greedy rich who don’t pay their fair share, consider what these richest of the rich did with the money that they didn't pay in taxes:
Andrew Carnegie used his wealth to build over two thousand five hundred libraries throughout the World. By 1919, near HALF of the all of the libraries in the United States were built with funds provided by Carnegie.
John D. Rockefeller gave away approximately $540 million (over $10 billion in today’s dollars) before his death in 1937 at the age of 97. With that money, he created two of the world’s greatest research universities, helped pull the American South out of chronic poverty, educated legions of African Americans, jump started medical research, and dramatically improved health around the globe.
Gordon Moore, founder of Intel, has given away almost $7 billion.
Facebook Founder Mark Zuckerberg has pledged to give away at least half of his wealth, and has already given over $500 million.
Warren Buffet has pledged to give away 99% of all his wealth, and has already given away $23 billion dollars.
Finally, Bill Gates leads them all with over $28 billion dollars already donated.
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