rant of the day -- well, morning anyway

Funny thing is, I don't particularly care about earnings taxes or real estate transfer taxes. But Prop. A & Amendm't 3 (Missouri) are shortsighted. It's the combination of attempting to prevent such taxes from being passed in the future, & grabbing power away from localities, that makes me rabidly opposed to these propositions.

Amendm't 1, otoh, is completely ridiculous. If you have to make a targeted exception to the rule you're putting in the constitution, why are you putting it in the constitution?

And if a tax break for POW's were a statute, I wouldn't object. In fact, I don't really care if this one passes, because it's hilarious. But it's still too goofy for me to really advocate it for the constitution.

video

I liked the Olivia Wilde bit for MoveOn better. But it needs to be said. Don't let your disappointment in the moderates become capitulation to the fanatics.

(In this, Pelosi, Obama, Reid, etc., are the moderates; the religious right/Tea Party nexus the fanatics. If you don't see that, step back & look at what Pelosi & Obama have actually done, not the exaggerations from either side.)

Also, I think too many of us failed to be the change we were looking for this primary season. I am bemoaning the lack of real challengers now because of that. But there are a few.

I'm voting for Scott Eckersley for Congress. I don't expect to agree with him on a whole lot, but he's better than the alternative.

Don't forget. The conservative GOP is not the majority, but it is the usual majority of the majority of the majority, and they may still be the plurality group by interest & priorities. It's up to everyone else in the two-party system to stand up to them however we can. For many of us, that means working with those we don't entirely like or agree with through the Democratic Party.

oh, yeah, this.

Hey, you. This came for you.

(no subject)

I've seen a lot of arguments from conservatives about how they're not heartless for wanting to kill social programs and withhold tax money, etc.; they would rather just give their money to charity directly, rather than have it go through government.

This is such epic bullshit.

What they really mean when they say that is one of two things:

1. I'm a sack of crap liar and would never voluntarily give my money away to anyone.

2. I don't want my money going to people for whom I have contempt: AKA single parents, people of color, people who were too lazy to not be born rich...
http://uppityliberal.livejournal.com/204220.html

Consider this:
Various studies show American Christians as a whole give away a miserly 3% or so of their income to the church or charity.
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-lobdell-religion-20100808,0,3621871.story

It is through coercion that Jesus's idea of charity was to work. "Eat, drink, & be merry, rich man, for tomorrow you die." "No rich man shall enter my kingdom." "If you would be saved, sell everything you own & give the proceeds to the poor." The torment of Dives in Tartarus.

Too many Christians want to equate modern, Christic social democracy with the Roman kleptocracy, & claim that Jesus was really just a tax protester like them.

And they think that if they're making more money, they're justified in giving a smaller percentage of it, because there's more to give, right? But since that's more of the economy in their hands, more lost opportunity to others, it's actually better on a macroeconomic level to have them give a greater proportion up than to have them give a lesser proportion. If you're now making more money relative to the mean, that's more of the economy you're pulling to yourself. More that isn't in someone else's hands. Less that's going to someone else's needs. The least you should pay is the standard. (Also, technically a tithe of 10% was to be a "flat tax" for the religious authorities; alms were additional.)

Some will argue that we don't need taxes, tithes, nor alms. That these are primitive ideas from ancient times, & that instead the free market will cover all needs. But this is not some perfect economic utopia where that might work; the real world still demands charity.

I'm a hypocrite, of course. I've never tithed regularly in my life. But I accept that taxes are a good way of dealing with the fact that people don't voluntarily do the right thing. I don't, you probably don't either.