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Perhaps my first political post ever
Jan. 20th, 2009 08:49 pmFirst the basics:
1) I didn't even know what racism was until I was in college. In a VERY general sense, I knew there were people who cared what race someone was, but no one I knew did and so it was just a strange concept to me. When it happened, I found the whole thing bewildering and sad. Oh yeah, and it pissed me the fuck off.
2) As glad a I am that our new president is a black man, I do not believe we've reached some pinnacle of racial equality. It's a step, a big step, but there's a very long road ahead of us.
3)I'm neither a republican nor a democrat. I'm socially pretty liberal, and fiscally pretty conservative. I take the words "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" VERY literally. They are the basis of everything that comes after and supersedes all of it, IMHO.
4)This is not a democracy, and it is certainly not a meritocracy. It's a form of federalism, technically and functions as such. This country was founded by people who did not believe the common man had the sense god gave a cat, and who limited the impact of the opinion of the masses could have on the running of the country.
Ok, the actual content:
1)Tax cuts: Not generally a "democratic party" priority, and in and of themselves neither a bane to the economy not a stimulus. I do resent the fact that I pay more of a percentage of my income in taxes than pretty much anyone who earns more than me. I'm in that limbo where you have to pay the taxed but can't afford the people who set up the dodges like trust funds, etc. My partner and I employ 10 people, but I harvest none of the benefits from that. Let's be clear. have no problem paying what I do in taxes, I just want others to do the same.
Tax cuts can either stimulate growth or limit it, depending on what people do with the money they "get back". And that's just it. If corporate tax breaks translated into more jobs, instead of just larger profits for a very few that's be fine. But we've had over 20 years of "trickle down" economics and it's failed miserably. So I sew nothing inherently wrong with Obama's tax plan and it may save the middle class, which is being phased out by the dual pressures of inflation and taxes.
2)Healthcare: I actually believe in very few rights, except for the above mentioned life, liberty....I don't think healthcare is a right, but in these days given the cost of getting even a simple cold, I do think it's a necessity. I see no reason, why in this country any child should be without basic insurance while CEO's earn millions and sports/movie stars billions. As far as I'm concerned, everyone should have health insurance. I also don't see why I should pay for Motrin for people who come in to my office wearing expensive brand name clothes and driving SUVs.
Anyone who spent any amount of time greater than minuscule studying healthcare economics knows that we spend much more dealing with the illnesses of the uninsured via emergency rooms and the transfer of costs to the insured than we would insuring the entire country. We also spend a huge amount employing people to administrate the large number of different medicaids/medicares than we would if there were one standard plan with at leas basic coverage. And as far as I'm concerned, that the bottom line. National health care would save the country money. End of story.
3)Abortion: It's a personal choice. I'd never have one but I have no call to tell other people how to live their lives. Not everyone is meant to be a parent. And before someone starts spouting off about adoption and other options, look as the population of the foster care system. Most of them weren't taken away from their parents, they were given away and could not be found homes. And before you start talking about abstinence or birth control, think about the average self control of any teenager you know and how huge the few dollars condoms (by far the cheapest option) would be to them. Granted, working adults have no excuse. BUt if you haven't been there, don't judge.
4)Economics: No we're not in a depression; yes we are in a recession and even the most conservative of economic pundits admitted that in late fall. While, in general, I believe that most american spend far more than they need to, spending nothing in fear of worse times to come only makes things worse. Assuming you have anything to spend at all. Once again, in and of themselves corporations and business owners are not evil. Though they often do things that are, at best, not good under the cloak of "it's not me it's the business". But no one, no matter how brilliant, ever built a successful enterprise by hard work alone. There is always a lot of luck involved in any success, and a host of things outside your control. Some of them can be overcome by a privileged background, the right connections, some person choosing to help you, or pure unadulterated sweat. But not all of them. Without some kind of break at some time, we could all be living very different lives.
I've been poor. We're not talking no iPod poor, but government cheese and absolutely no clothes that weren't hand me downs from family, friends, or a charity organization. Yes, my life is pretty good now and I worked very damn hard for it. But I was lucky enough to be born smarter than many, to have a mother who invested a lot of time and effort in us often to her own detriment, and to have a direction to go in. Plus I had lots of help, in ways large and small, along the way. Has the help been hindrance, I might be a welfare mom. It is the height of hubris to believe you made it all on your own. Since I have been lucky, it is my responsibility to help others as I can. Note the word choice- not as I want to but as I can. And I believe that every corporation and business man has the same responsibility, including providing either healthcare to their employees or paying the employees enough that they can both live decently and pay for their own healthcare.
OK, I guess I could go one for quite a while. But that's the major issues I've seen mentioned recently. I welcome discussion but all flaming comments will be deleted without benefit of reply.
1) I didn't even know what racism was until I was in college. In a VERY general sense, I knew there were people who cared what race someone was, but no one I knew did and so it was just a strange concept to me. When it happened, I found the whole thing bewildering and sad. Oh yeah, and it pissed me the fuck off.
2) As glad a I am that our new president is a black man, I do not believe we've reached some pinnacle of racial equality. It's a step, a big step, but there's a very long road ahead of us.
3)I'm neither a republican nor a democrat. I'm socially pretty liberal, and fiscally pretty conservative. I take the words "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" VERY literally. They are the basis of everything that comes after and supersedes all of it, IMHO.
4)This is not a democracy, and it is certainly not a meritocracy. It's a form of federalism, technically and functions as such. This country was founded by people who did not believe the common man had the sense god gave a cat, and who limited the impact of the opinion of the masses could have on the running of the country.
Ok, the actual content:
1)Tax cuts: Not generally a "democratic party" priority, and in and of themselves neither a bane to the economy not a stimulus. I do resent the fact that I pay more of a percentage of my income in taxes than pretty much anyone who earns more than me. I'm in that limbo where you have to pay the taxed but can't afford the people who set up the dodges like trust funds, etc. My partner and I employ 10 people, but I harvest none of the benefits from that. Let's be clear. have no problem paying what I do in taxes, I just want others to do the same.
Tax cuts can either stimulate growth or limit it, depending on what people do with the money they "get back". And that's just it. If corporate tax breaks translated into more jobs, instead of just larger profits for a very few that's be fine. But we've had over 20 years of "trickle down" economics and it's failed miserably. So I sew nothing inherently wrong with Obama's tax plan and it may save the middle class, which is being phased out by the dual pressures of inflation and taxes.
2)Healthcare: I actually believe in very few rights, except for the above mentioned life, liberty....I don't think healthcare is a right, but in these days given the cost of getting even a simple cold, I do think it's a necessity. I see no reason, why in this country any child should be without basic insurance while CEO's earn millions and sports/movie stars billions. As far as I'm concerned, everyone should have health insurance. I also don't see why I should pay for Motrin for people who come in to my office wearing expensive brand name clothes and driving SUVs.
Anyone who spent any amount of time greater than minuscule studying healthcare economics knows that we spend much more dealing with the illnesses of the uninsured via emergency rooms and the transfer of costs to the insured than we would insuring the entire country. We also spend a huge amount employing people to administrate the large number of different medicaids/medicares than we would if there were one standard plan with at leas basic coverage. And as far as I'm concerned, that the bottom line. National health care would save the country money. End of story.
3)Abortion: It's a personal choice. I'd never have one but I have no call to tell other people how to live their lives. Not everyone is meant to be a parent. And before someone starts spouting off about adoption and other options, look as the population of the foster care system. Most of them weren't taken away from their parents, they were given away and could not be found homes. And before you start talking about abstinence or birth control, think about the average self control of any teenager you know and how huge the few dollars condoms (by far the cheapest option) would be to them. Granted, working adults have no excuse. BUt if you haven't been there, don't judge.
4)Economics: No we're not in a depression; yes we are in a recession and even the most conservative of economic pundits admitted that in late fall. While, in general, I believe that most american spend far more than they need to, spending nothing in fear of worse times to come only makes things worse. Assuming you have anything to spend at all. Once again, in and of themselves corporations and business owners are not evil. Though they often do things that are, at best, not good under the cloak of "it's not me it's the business". But no one, no matter how brilliant, ever built a successful enterprise by hard work alone. There is always a lot of luck involved in any success, and a host of things outside your control. Some of them can be overcome by a privileged background, the right connections, some person choosing to help you, or pure unadulterated sweat. But not all of them. Without some kind of break at some time, we could all be living very different lives.
I've been poor. We're not talking no iPod poor, but government cheese and absolutely no clothes that weren't hand me downs from family, friends, or a charity organization. Yes, my life is pretty good now and I worked very damn hard for it. But I was lucky enough to be born smarter than many, to have a mother who invested a lot of time and effort in us often to her own detriment, and to have a direction to go in. Plus I had lots of help, in ways large and small, along the way. Has the help been hindrance, I might be a welfare mom. It is the height of hubris to believe you made it all on your own. Since I have been lucky, it is my responsibility to help others as I can. Note the word choice- not as I want to but as I can. And I believe that every corporation and business man has the same responsibility, including providing either healthcare to their employees or paying the employees enough that they can both live decently and pay for their own healthcare.
OK, I guess I could go one for quite a while. But that's the major issues I've seen mentioned recently. I welcome discussion but all flaming comments will be deleted without benefit of reply.
