Saturday, May 21, 2011

A Letter from my Mirror Image.

In the T&G there is a Letter to the Editor that I responded to at lenght.

 
How can adding a trillion dollars to the deficit by giving huge tax breaks to large corporations and the wealthiest Americans be considered deficit reduction? Too bad Republicans can’t explain that logic to us liberals stuck on the crazy idea that everyone should be on a level playing field and pay their fair share.

It doesn’t make sense to me, nor to billionaire Warren Buffet, who said his secretary pays a higher tax rate than he does and there’s something wrong with the system. Now, he and I can say that General Electric Co. paid less taxes to the government than we did last year. Of course GE isn’t alone in that respect; two-thirds of American corporations pay little or no taxes. That’s the Republican way.

Then there are other Republican agendas I don’t understand as being a good thing for the people. Like trying to repeal the little bit of health care reform we did get, trying to end Medicare as we know it, and trying to destroy organizations that do family medical planning services and helping minorities understand their voting rights, e.g., Planned Parenthood and ACORN. Spreading misinformation, lies and editing tapes unabated in order to keep people from being helped and educated is an abomination.

The Republican Party has some “splainin’ to do, Lucy,” on why they’re stuck on stupid. Here’s how to save the economy in a nutshell: Single-payer, tax the rich, end wars and regulate Wall Street.

EDWARD A. SAUCIER


Dear Mr. Saucier,

It is nice to again read your prose in the pages of the T&G.  I am glad that you are well and up to the challenge of attempting to defending your ill conceived ideology.  As is you habit you have thrown a lot at the wall hoping some of it will stick.  As is also your habit you have laced your letter with vitriol and attacks on your favorite boogie man those “Rascally Republicans.”  Your letter is a poorly formed collection of misinformation and half truths.  But it is no doubt the best defense you can make considering the ideology you are trying to defend.  But you should be proud of your unabated passion.  While others have been discouraged by the failures of your political ideology, you have reached a singular height in zealotry.  Let me start that I am not a Republican.  I write for the advancement and defense of the Tea Party movement.  Much of your scatological rant does target core positions of the Tea Party Movement so I will attempt some “splannin” for you.  I have much to say it will take several posts. 

The basic premise of conservative taxation is to raise the revenue that the government needs to operate.  A public good needs to be meet so a tax must pay for it.  This is as basic as it can be and is where most of us want the issue to stay.  I want to drive on roads so I pay a tax on the gallons of gas I buy to build and maintain the roads.  Easily understandable.  Liberal politicians want to use the tax system to make thing “fairer.”  When liberal politicians say the word “fairer,” they really mean complicated.  Liberal politicians wish to use the government to punish those they don’t like; unfortunately they don’t like productive people.  They say that raising taxes on this group will make “taxes fairer.”  Returning to my road example, the tax you pay is based no longer on just the gallons of gas you buy, but on what station you purchase your gas at and what type of vehicle you put the gas into.  After those increases, and “fairer” always means tax increases, the liberal politicians take the tax money that they collected to build and maintain roads and spend it on their agenda items.  They take trips to other countries to learn about their roads.  They fund studies, pay off their friends in academia, to show why roads are “bad.”  After all those expenses there is no tax money left for the roads.  That is when they higher people who have donated to their election campaigns to propose new taxes that we need for the maintenance of the roads.  Don’t you see how much trouble this “fairer” gets us into?  

Mr. Saucier, you and I are probably more alike than either of us would like to admit.  We both wish to improve our nation and protect our neighbors.  We both passionately believe we know how to achieve those things.  I believe the words of that famous Republican. “Am I not destroying my enemies when I make friends of them?”  I wish you to understand that I seek to refute your ideology but that I do not seek to destroy you.  I would only destroy the enmity between us.  I look forward to reading more of your thoughts.

Respectfully,
RWB

P.S.  I have no illusions that there is anything I can do to dissuade  Mr. Saucier from his political opinions.  But I do believe that when ever and wherever possible it is important to stand up for what you believe in and it is possible to disagree without being disagreeable.


1 comment:

Michael Isenberg said...

The top 1% of income earners, who make 20% of the income, already pay 40% of the income taxes. How much does Mr. Saucier think is "fair".