Day: October 10, 2011

Fundamental Tax Justice: 5.6 Percent Tax On Incomes Over $1 Million!

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The top one percent of the taxpayers of this country have gained 80 percent of the gains in income over the past few decades!

Therefore, the move by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to conduct a vote on raising taxes on all income of those who have over $1 million net income is fundamental tax justice!

This is a tax on income and capital gains OVER $1 million, so using the example of someone earning $2 million, he or she would pay $56,000 more for the second million dollars. Would anyone in reality decide not to earn or acquire another million dollars by investment because they have to pay $56,000 extra to the government? The answer is obviously NO! That person has gained an extra $944,000, certainly enough to be a motivation to earn or invest it!

But if this tax were to go through, which it will not, unfortunately, the ENTIRE cost of the American Jobs Act of President Barack Obama, $447 million, would be covered! And this would assist economic recovery and lower the unemployment rate!

This is an example of not only fundamental tax justice, but also of the famous line, “shared sacrifice”! If one is successful economically, he or she owes a debt of gratitude to the nation that allowed him or her the opportunity, and should not complain about contributing more to the welfare of the nation, particularly after having gained such a tremendous advantage in income acquisition in the past ten to thirty years!

This vote will show the difference between the FUNDAMENTAL TAX JUSTICE party, the Democrats, and the PARTY OF THE WEALTHY, the Republicans!

Presidential Styles: Interpersonal Relationships Important In Level Of Success!

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The American Presidency is a complex institution, with 43 men so far having occupied that office, and the personalities of the Presidents have a great deal to do with the level of success they achieve.

Many have been shy or withdrawn in dealings with others, including the public, the Congress, and the news media, which may surprise the average person, wondering how they were able to win election. Among this group would be included Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoover, Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter, and George H. W. Bush.

Others had great capabilities as communicators, but somehow could not translate it into warm relationships with Congress, including Woodrow Wilson, John F. Kennedy, Bill Clinton, and now clearly, Barack Obama.

Then, there were those who knew how to get what they wanted, including Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Ronald Reagan, keeping close in touch with Congressional leaders, charming them with White House meetings, including the opposition party!

And then there are those Presidents who don’t quite fit any of the above descriptions, including Harry Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Gerald Ford, and George W. Bush. All were unique in their skills and abilities, having some successes and some failures in office.

A recent Washington Post opinion piece called Obama a “loner” President who finds it difficult to make Congressional relationships, even with his own party, and not particularly liking people as individuals, and much better speaking to the nation as a whole. This could be seen as a shortcoming, which could undermine Obama’s attempt to win re-election!

But then, Obama’s Republican challengers, particularly Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul, Rick Santorum and Herman Cain do not exactly engender a sense of warmth in dealing with others!

The Republicans On The Road To Self Destruction Over Religion!

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The Republican Party, in theory, has a fantastic opportunity to win the 2012 Presidential Election, considering the bad economic situation we are in, with no likelihood of the unemployment rate going down below 9 percent over the next year.

But in the midst of this hopeful sign for the party, it is religion that looks as if it will divide the GOP, and help to cause their defeat.

It is the same issue that we had with Al Smith in 1928 and John F. Kennedy in 1960, because of their Catholicism.

It is now the issue of the Mormon Church and the candidacy of Mitt Romney, and also, Jon Huntsman, both of whom have the best opportunity to overwhelm Barack Obama in next year’s election, were either of them to become the nominee of the party.

But with evangelical Christians in the South and border states having prejudice against not only Mormons, but also Catholics. Jews, Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists, there is a real barrier to Romney or Huntsman being able to win enough support in the primaries and caucuses, many of the early states (Iowa and South Carolina as examples) dominated by the evangelicals.

And if either were to, somehow, win the nomination, there is a good chance that someone would form a third party and divide the Republican vote, helping Obama to return to office.

As if the Republican Party does not have enough trouble with its inability to attract African Americans, Hispanics and Latinos, gays, and educated women, they add the burden of using religion as a disqualifying factor that may destroy any chance of them regaining power in the White House!

Why Did National Government Grow? Because Of Crises State And Local Governments Could Not Cope With!

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In the midst of constant debate about the validity and size and scope of national government in America, one truth shines out!

In time of crisis, it is the fact and the leadership of federal government that has saved us from disaster!

It was the recognition that state and local governments were unable to deal with anarchy and chaos during the period of the Articles of Confederation in the 1780s, which led to the Constitutional Convention and the establishment of a strong national government.

It was the reality that the Union was being dissolved by the secession of the Southern states, determined to protect their evil institution of slavery at all costs, that forced the growth of national government to keep the Union together, promote economic growth, expand the concept of human rights to all groups, and put America on the road to being a world leader.

It was the threat presented by foreign powers in World War I and World War II which required the growth of national government to protect our national security.

It was the national government which came to the rescue at the heights of the Great Depression, when the nation was in danger of chaos and possible turn toward dictatorship of the left or the right, triumphant elsewhere, but prevented by our national government.

It was our national government which had the ability to protect us during the period of the Cold War with the Soviet Union from 1945-1991.

Despite complaints about tactics, it was our national government which was looked to after the horrific attack on September 11, 2001, and has prevented any further attack.

Try to imagine leaving all of these crises to state and local governments, which so often have proved their incompetence, their inadequacy, their shallow nature, their narrow mindedness. We would not have had the history we have experienced, and would, most certainly, be under the control and dominance of foreign powers!

State and local governments have legitimate roles in our federal system, but it is the national government which has been the “hero” in our history, saving us from harm, chaos, and a future that would have been much more difficult than our national experience has proved to be!