Somewhere in there, there's gotta be a theme!!
So, the fiscal cliff: it's a speed bump. I love how the media dramatizes everything. Even supposing (shocking, I know) that McConnell et al refuse to bargain and everything goes flushing, those cuts are phased in over FIVE YEARS. Five years. That's 1,825 days.
You're not gonna wake up and magically have your taxes raised and the economy in the toilet. It's available out there, folks - just read.
Republican obstruction: Like that's news? McConnell and the bunch need to realize that mid-terms are coming up and the American people (those who voted in this landslide election, remember??) are fed up with the divisive nature of politics. They're sick of seeing everything stuck because someone's having a hissy fit. So Prez Obama won a second term. Yes, he did, and yes I voted for him.
Y'all need to get over yourselves.
Yoga: I got to sub and teach my first yoga class last week!! How fun it was - and how nerve-wracking. I've been practicing for at least 7 years or so. But getting up in front? That was a bit scary. Luckily, the students took it easy on me and I had a practice that was fairly benign. No backbends; no pretzel poses.
I'm looking forward to teacher training in 2013 and hoping that after it's all done I have a place to teach. Just part-time. But I want to do this. I think I have something to offer.
Showing posts with label tax increase. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tax increase. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
You DIDN'T Vote? Well...
...then don't gag over your morning coffee to see that our city's tax referendum (increasing sales tax by 1%) passed.
Because YOU didn't vote.
...then don't sigh over your morning newspaper when you read that some politician with ethics charges pending against her actually won in her district.
Because YOU didn't vote.
...then don't scream at your TV at another round of endless presidential candidate bloviation via commercial since there's still no nominee for the opposing party.
Because YOU didn't vote.
...then don't complain to me about the local Park Board (and by the way: REALLY? Are those LIFE appointments???) because "your guy" didn't get in.
Because YOU didn't vote.
We had a primary day yesterday. I was up before the chickens because I chose to be an Election Judge; a job I take very seriously. It's exhausting work because you are stuck at the polling place from 5 a.m. till 7:30 p.m. (polls close at 7 p.m., but it takes about 1/2 hour for you to tear down and properly shut down the voting machines) and then I got to drive the supplies and the voter box back to the Clerk's Office. I got home about 8:30 p.m.
For this, in a few months, I'll get about $100. That's about $6.25 per hour. I certainly don't do this for the money, since I do have a full-time job. I do it because that's my way of getting involved.
And I can tell you, on a local level, involvement means getting in the voting booth.
Involvement STARTS well before that, however. Involvement means educating yourself about the issues. I can't number the people (mostly women - YIKES!) who glanced over at their husband's ballot application form to see what HE was doing before SHE checked off the box.
Let me explain that, lest you think they were voting in the same booth. In my county, you have a pre-signed "ballot application form" that we have at the polling place. That's that little alphabetical book we pull your "ticket" from. You filled out an application to get your voter's card.
In a primary in my state, you have 3 options: You can declare a party (Dem/Repub) or you can declare "non-partisan" but ONLY if there is a referendum issue on the ballot. So there are 3 check boxes: Democratic, Republican, Nonpartisan. If there is no referendum, you MUST declare a party, since Illinois doesn't have (nor will it likely have) an open primary.
So. If there is a referendum issue, educate yourself. Get to know the issue. Think about what you want to have happen. Then go vote.
Women, please use your own brain. If your husband wants to pick one type of ballot, you really do not need to go along with him. So if your vote cancels his out? Well, that's sometimes the way it works. That's the greatness of the process. Sometimes we run neck-and-neck because people are passionate about issues, and will vote on them. And there are winners and losers. So if you want to just vote for the referendum and Hubby wants to vote for political candidates, that's perfectly ok. If he wants to be a Republican this time, you can be a Democrat. The skies won't rain down frogs and locusts upon either of you.
The turnout in Illinois was abysmal. In the toilet. The lowest in years. People, there are other countries in which the population votes, but they are "told" how to vote. Oh, sure, Chavez gets a mandate...at the point of threats! WE get to vote for who and what we want. We get to determine, to a certain extent, what gets on the ballot by participating in your town's council or the like. At my polling place, we had 19% turnout. Sad. But if you don't vote, you don't get to complain about the outcome. It's your own darned fault. You have the right to vote; it's up to you to exercise it.
At any rate, involvement starts by educating yourself. Then it continues when you get your butt to the polls and cast your vote. If you want to get more involved, there are a number of local politicians and issues that would welcome your help. Find an issue about which you are passionate, and get involved.
And go vote.
Because YOU didn't vote.
...then don't sigh over your morning newspaper when you read that some politician with ethics charges pending against her actually won in her district.
Because YOU didn't vote.
...then don't scream at your TV at another round of endless presidential candidate bloviation via commercial since there's still no nominee for the opposing party.
Because YOU didn't vote.
...then don't complain to me about the local Park Board (and by the way: REALLY? Are those LIFE appointments???) because "your guy" didn't get in.
Because YOU didn't vote.
We had a primary day yesterday. I was up before the chickens because I chose to be an Election Judge; a job I take very seriously. It's exhausting work because you are stuck at the polling place from 5 a.m. till 7:30 p.m. (polls close at 7 p.m., but it takes about 1/2 hour for you to tear down and properly shut down the voting machines) and then I got to drive the supplies and the voter box back to the Clerk's Office. I got home about 8:30 p.m.
For this, in a few months, I'll get about $100. That's about $6.25 per hour. I certainly don't do this for the money, since I do have a full-time job. I do it because that's my way of getting involved.
And I can tell you, on a local level, involvement means getting in the voting booth.
Involvement STARTS well before that, however. Involvement means educating yourself about the issues. I can't number the people (mostly women - YIKES!) who glanced over at their husband's ballot application form to see what HE was doing before SHE checked off the box.
Let me explain that, lest you think they were voting in the same booth. In my county, you have a pre-signed "ballot application form" that we have at the polling place. That's that little alphabetical book we pull your "ticket" from. You filled out an application to get your voter's card.
In a primary in my state, you have 3 options: You can declare a party (Dem/Repub) or you can declare "non-partisan" but ONLY if there is a referendum issue on the ballot. So there are 3 check boxes: Democratic, Republican, Nonpartisan. If there is no referendum, you MUST declare a party, since Illinois doesn't have (nor will it likely have) an open primary.
So. If there is a referendum issue, educate yourself. Get to know the issue. Think about what you want to have happen. Then go vote.
Women, please use your own brain. If your husband wants to pick one type of ballot, you really do not need to go along with him. So if your vote cancels his out? Well, that's sometimes the way it works. That's the greatness of the process. Sometimes we run neck-and-neck because people are passionate about issues, and will vote on them. And there are winners and losers. So if you want to just vote for the referendum and Hubby wants to vote for political candidates, that's perfectly ok. If he wants to be a Republican this time, you can be a Democrat. The skies won't rain down frogs and locusts upon either of you.
The turnout in Illinois was abysmal. In the toilet. The lowest in years. People, there are other countries in which the population votes, but they are "told" how to vote. Oh, sure, Chavez gets a mandate...at the point of threats! WE get to vote for who and what we want. We get to determine, to a certain extent, what gets on the ballot by participating in your town's council or the like. At my polling place, we had 19% turnout. Sad. But if you don't vote, you don't get to complain about the outcome. It's your own darned fault. You have the right to vote; it's up to you to exercise it.
At any rate, involvement starts by educating yourself. Then it continues when you get your butt to the polls and cast your vote. If you want to get more involved, there are a number of local politicians and issues that would welcome your help. Find an issue about which you are passionate, and get involved.
And go vote.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Do You Want to Go Back or Go Forward?
See, I'm having a problem. I'm having a problem with the budget discussions. On both sides, actually.
I don't want to see the heating program cut; and I don't want the block grant program cut. I don't like that the social services programs are being cut.
And I don't like what I see from the Republican side either - driving us to the brink of disaster with their push to privatize Social Security and slash Medicare and Medicaid.
Frankly, I'd be perfectly happy to see the public arts programs cut for now. Nobody has ever died because of lack of art. But the nearly-50-million uninsured Americans? They're not looking too good lately.
The retirees? Social Security isn't the budget-buster. It's solvent. Really. Look it up. Why do you want to rob from the seniors, who've paid their dues, to give it to corporations and the military? The uber-rich will gain from this, not the people like my mother and my mother-in-law.
Balanced budget? Yep, we do need that. But here's the thing. It's really, REALLY basic math.
The uber-rich and the corporations slide because they're getting massive --- and I mean massive tax breaks. Last year, ExxonMobil paid NO taxes. But they had one of their greatest earnings years ever. The loopholes were so big that you could've driven an oil tanker through them, but given Exxon's history, I would want to know who's driving that particular vehicle!
Do you want to slash programs that cut jobs, but then give rewards to corporations for them to outsource those jobs? That's what's happening. And Obama just gave a plum position in his administration to a well-known outsourcer-extraordinaire. Lovely.
Obama really needs to do what he said he was going to do: Stand up for the people who got him into office. He's playing with fire when playing with the Republicans who want two things: To show that the black guy in the White House will fail; and to take ultimate control to toss us all under the bus. Any of us who are middle-class? We're Republican toast. Our retirements are at stake. What do you want to do when you retire? I'm not talking "retiring to a vineyard in Napa." I'm talking "affordable retirement where I don't have to worry about buying food versus paying other bills." That's pretty basic. That's why I'm working; that's why my Hubby is working. To have a pay-off at the end of our working lives where we can relax and not have to be greeters at the local Big Box when we're 80. If we can get that job...
Do I know the answer? Well, I have an idea, and I'm sure I'm not the only one who's looking at the same thing. It's just that I have no power. I have the power of the pen - which isn't what it used to be, quite frankly, and I have the power of my vote. I think. Not so sure about that lately, since my President has morphed into something I'm not sure I like.
Here's my take. Tax the rich at an equitable level. No, don't ask them what's equitable, because they like the huge slice of the pie they already have. An equitable level as determined mathematically through a review of what everyone makes. Average that number and then determine an appropriate tax rate for those whose incomes are over a certain number. I don't know the number. I just know that if I'm making $250,000+, I can be sure that I'll pay way less than someone making $100,000 or less. Because I'll have someone who knows where to stash that income to make it look like I'm making less than that $250,000. Come on, you can afford it, particularly if your income is quite far past that $250,000 number.
And corporations. They are not people. They do not deserve the same rights as a person. A corporation is not a sentient being, and thus does not have the same Constitutional right. It can change overnight into something else. I will always be a human. No changing here, except I'll get older. A corporation can change into another corporation; can divest itself of assets to appear to be something it isn't; can merge or acquire different businesses to change its assets and give better benefits to their stockholders. I can't do that as a human. I can marry, but that doesn't mean that I can change my basic being. Which is what can happen with a corporation.
So don't give them the same rights as a person. And hold them accountable to the cities and states in which they do business. Don't give them tax breaks to send jobs away from Americans. And don't tell me there are cheaper workers overseas. I get the whole "global corporate environment" thing, but when I see jobs going overseas, I don't see the same reciprocity... The countries who are taking those jobs aren't exactly supporting America. They're supporting their families, true. But since America has pretty much ceased making anything anyone wants to buy - the overseas workers are incapable of supporting us in any meaningful way. This is a one-way street, and we're in the headlights of the oncoming traffic.
In the last 10 years, we have lost over 50,000 factories in the US. Millions of jobs. And it's harder and harder to find products manufactured here. But again, we're also giving people who WANT to build and manufacture here a load of crap - we're not allowing them to do it easily. If you read Bloomberg Business Week you can see stories about manufacturers who are apologizing for having to go to China or another country because the US has made it virtually unprofitable to set up a factory here. A solar-battery manufacturer wanted to build a plant in the Carolinas. But by the time he got through the red tape and other hoops and chutes and ladders -- it was cheaper to go to China. He would like to come to America - at some point. And he's disappointed that he wasn't able to start a factory here. To give a US-made, relevant product to the American consumer and to provide sustainable jobs to American citizens.
What are we headed toward? I'm not sure and I'm frightened. I think we need a counter-revolution of the Liberal kind. The Conservatives are determined to flush the middle class and lower class down into the sewer, all to enrich their cronies. I don't like the idea of being flushed.
I hope you agree.
I don't want to see the heating program cut; and I don't want the block grant program cut. I don't like that the social services programs are being cut.
And I don't like what I see from the Republican side either - driving us to the brink of disaster with their push to privatize Social Security and slash Medicare and Medicaid.
Frankly, I'd be perfectly happy to see the public arts programs cut for now. Nobody has ever died because of lack of art. But the nearly-50-million uninsured Americans? They're not looking too good lately.
The retirees? Social Security isn't the budget-buster. It's solvent. Really. Look it up. Why do you want to rob from the seniors, who've paid their dues, to give it to corporations and the military? The uber-rich will gain from this, not the people like my mother and my mother-in-law.
Balanced budget? Yep, we do need that. But here's the thing. It's really, REALLY basic math.
The uber-rich and the corporations slide because they're getting massive --- and I mean massive tax breaks. Last year, ExxonMobil paid NO taxes. But they had one of their greatest earnings years ever. The loopholes were so big that you could've driven an oil tanker through them, but given Exxon's history, I would want to know who's driving that particular vehicle!
Do you want to slash programs that cut jobs, but then give rewards to corporations for them to outsource those jobs? That's what's happening. And Obama just gave a plum position in his administration to a well-known outsourcer-extraordinaire. Lovely.
Obama really needs to do what he said he was going to do: Stand up for the people who got him into office. He's playing with fire when playing with the Republicans who want two things: To show that the black guy in the White House will fail; and to take ultimate control to toss us all under the bus. Any of us who are middle-class? We're Republican toast. Our retirements are at stake. What do you want to do when you retire? I'm not talking "retiring to a vineyard in Napa." I'm talking "affordable retirement where I don't have to worry about buying food versus paying other bills." That's pretty basic. That's why I'm working; that's why my Hubby is working. To have a pay-off at the end of our working lives where we can relax and not have to be greeters at the local Big Box when we're 80. If we can get that job...
Do I know the answer? Well, I have an idea, and I'm sure I'm not the only one who's looking at the same thing. It's just that I have no power. I have the power of the pen - which isn't what it used to be, quite frankly, and I have the power of my vote. I think. Not so sure about that lately, since my President has morphed into something I'm not sure I like.
Here's my take. Tax the rich at an equitable level. No, don't ask them what's equitable, because they like the huge slice of the pie they already have. An equitable level as determined mathematically through a review of what everyone makes. Average that number and then determine an appropriate tax rate for those whose incomes are over a certain number. I don't know the number. I just know that if I'm making $250,000+, I can be sure that I'll pay way less than someone making $100,000 or less. Because I'll have someone who knows where to stash that income to make it look like I'm making less than that $250,000. Come on, you can afford it, particularly if your income is quite far past that $250,000 number.
And corporations. They are not people. They do not deserve the same rights as a person. A corporation is not a sentient being, and thus does not have the same Constitutional right. It can change overnight into something else. I will always be a human. No changing here, except I'll get older. A corporation can change into another corporation; can divest itself of assets to appear to be something it isn't; can merge or acquire different businesses to change its assets and give better benefits to their stockholders. I can't do that as a human. I can marry, but that doesn't mean that I can change my basic being. Which is what can happen with a corporation.
So don't give them the same rights as a person. And hold them accountable to the cities and states in which they do business. Don't give them tax breaks to send jobs away from Americans. And don't tell me there are cheaper workers overseas. I get the whole "global corporate environment" thing, but when I see jobs going overseas, I don't see the same reciprocity... The countries who are taking those jobs aren't exactly supporting America. They're supporting their families, true. But since America has pretty much ceased making anything anyone wants to buy - the overseas workers are incapable of supporting us in any meaningful way. This is a one-way street, and we're in the headlights of the oncoming traffic.
In the last 10 years, we have lost over 50,000 factories in the US. Millions of jobs. And it's harder and harder to find products manufactured here. But again, we're also giving people who WANT to build and manufacture here a load of crap - we're not allowing them to do it easily. If you read Bloomberg Business Week you can see stories about manufacturers who are apologizing for having to go to China or another country because the US has made it virtually unprofitable to set up a factory here. A solar-battery manufacturer wanted to build a plant in the Carolinas. But by the time he got through the red tape and other hoops and chutes and ladders -- it was cheaper to go to China. He would like to come to America - at some point. And he's disappointed that he wasn't able to start a factory here. To give a US-made, relevant product to the American consumer and to provide sustainable jobs to American citizens.
What are we headed toward? I'm not sure and I'm frightened. I think we need a counter-revolution of the Liberal kind. The Conservatives are determined to flush the middle class and lower class down into the sewer, all to enrich their cronies. I don't like the idea of being flushed.
I hope you agree.
Tuesday, November 09, 2010
It's Really Not...
...a "mandate" when you win an election by a hair's-breadth margin. I'm speaking about our recent nail-biter of a gubernatorial election in Illinois.
Governor Quinn, no longer the "accidental governor," was declared the winner and his rival Bill Brady finally conceded on the Friday after the election. It was mathematically certain that Brady had no chance of winning - and personally, I'm tickled to death about that. But all the same, he was within his rights to wait to make sure. At last count, Quinn won with a margin of almost 20,000 votes. Hardly a landslide.
A "mandate" as defined by Merriam-Webster's Desk Dictionary (the 1995 edition) is: an authoritative command; an authorization to act given to a representative.
So maybe he has the secondary definition in his favor, but in popular parlance, "mandate" has come to mean "landslide," which is unfortunate. Because it's not the same thing.
Facts are these: Illinois is broke. It's in debt up to Lincoln's eyeballs. We've had two recent governors convicted on criminal charges. We're taxed to the hilt and we still can't pay our bills. Unemployment is horrible (though better maybe than Michigan's) and the state is the punchline for jokes all over the place. Corruption is the state's new slogan.
All that being said, I have to agree with Quinn on a couple of points. Our education system stinks. The way we fund education is draconian. We have funded our education system on property taxes. Which is fine if you live in a high-rent district like New Trier where the average spent on a student is somewhere around $14,000 per student. In the smaller, more rural school districts, the spending is somewhere around $4,500 per student. In my school district alone, we have the dubious distinction of being "one of the poorest districts" in the state. How's that for a warm fuzzy?
And many communities have put tax caps on the property taxes. Which seems reasonable and seems like you are truly guarding that the homeowner won't be taxed out of his or her home. Until you hit the cap. Which is like hitting a brick wall. Something has to give because you're now in a state of diminishing returns. The schools can't afford basics. I'm not talking a laptop for each student.
I'm talking about textbooks that are 12 years old. That's too old no matter what side of the "spending for education" coin you're on. I'm talking about putting the school's "library" into a space the size of a closet and making the former library into classroom spaces because the school was built for 400 students but now as a population nearing 560 or more.
I'm talking about a high school built for 2500 students when the student body is topping that and is now in the neighborhood of nearly 500 more students. Crowding? Yeah, but look at the safety issues, too. We're in Tornado Alley. If you had to move nearly 3,000 students plus staff and faculty, could you efficiently move them - quickly? Probably not.
Quinn says we have to raise taxes. Which automatically sets off all kinds of alarm bells. But you know what? He's right. We do not need another casino. It only sucks revenue out of peoples' pockets. The house always wins, folks!
We do not need to cut social services any more than they've already been cut. We're not a frivolous state: the social services we have, we need. And it would be nice if the State could pay them for what they do.
Unless they're printing money in the basement of the Governor's Mansion, we are going to have to suck this up somehow. And tax increases are the most efficient way to do this.
Do I like it? Nope.
Can I do the math? Yep.
Do I have a better idea? Nope.
If anyone else does, please contact Governor Quinn. He could use the help.
Governor Quinn, no longer the "accidental governor," was declared the winner and his rival Bill Brady finally conceded on the Friday after the election. It was mathematically certain that Brady had no chance of winning - and personally, I'm tickled to death about that. But all the same, he was within his rights to wait to make sure. At last count, Quinn won with a margin of almost 20,000 votes. Hardly a landslide.
A "mandate" as defined by Merriam-Webster's Desk Dictionary (the 1995 edition) is: an authoritative command; an authorization to act given to a representative.
So maybe he has the secondary definition in his favor, but in popular parlance, "mandate" has come to mean "landslide," which is unfortunate. Because it's not the same thing.
Facts are these: Illinois is broke. It's in debt up to Lincoln's eyeballs. We've had two recent governors convicted on criminal charges. We're taxed to the hilt and we still can't pay our bills. Unemployment is horrible (though better maybe than Michigan's) and the state is the punchline for jokes all over the place. Corruption is the state's new slogan.
All that being said, I have to agree with Quinn on a couple of points. Our education system stinks. The way we fund education is draconian. We have funded our education system on property taxes. Which is fine if you live in a high-rent district like New Trier where the average spent on a student is somewhere around $14,000 per student. In the smaller, more rural school districts, the spending is somewhere around $4,500 per student. In my school district alone, we have the dubious distinction of being "one of the poorest districts" in the state. How's that for a warm fuzzy?
And many communities have put tax caps on the property taxes. Which seems reasonable and seems like you are truly guarding that the homeowner won't be taxed out of his or her home. Until you hit the cap. Which is like hitting a brick wall. Something has to give because you're now in a state of diminishing returns. The schools can't afford basics. I'm not talking a laptop for each student.
I'm talking about textbooks that are 12 years old. That's too old no matter what side of the "spending for education" coin you're on. I'm talking about putting the school's "library" into a space the size of a closet and making the former library into classroom spaces because the school was built for 400 students but now as a population nearing 560 or more.
I'm talking about a high school built for 2500 students when the student body is topping that and is now in the neighborhood of nearly 500 more students. Crowding? Yeah, but look at the safety issues, too. We're in Tornado Alley. If you had to move nearly 3,000 students plus staff and faculty, could you efficiently move them - quickly? Probably not.
Quinn says we have to raise taxes. Which automatically sets off all kinds of alarm bells. But you know what? He's right. We do not need another casino. It only sucks revenue out of peoples' pockets. The house always wins, folks!
We do not need to cut social services any more than they've already been cut. We're not a frivolous state: the social services we have, we need. And it would be nice if the State could pay them for what they do.
Unless they're printing money in the basement of the Governor's Mansion, we are going to have to suck this up somehow. And tax increases are the most efficient way to do this.
Do I like it? Nope.
Can I do the math? Yep.
Do I have a better idea? Nope.
If anyone else does, please contact Governor Quinn. He could use the help.
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