Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Monday, April 25, 2011
Progress Toward Equality
How Low Will Republican Politicians Go ?
Senator Caswell (pictured) has decided that foster children and children of the poor don't deserve any new clothes -- not even inexpensive clothing from a discount store. He wants a law that would take the state money set aside to help clothe these children and turn it into a "gift card" (state voucher) that could only be used at a second-hand store like Goodwill, Salvation Army, or thrift stores like them.
I am so aghast at Caswell's proposal that I'm left virtually speechless. So I will give you the words of the great blogger at The Immoral Minority, who probably says it better than I could anyway:
"I almost don't know what to say about this. I am stunned at this man's complete lack of compassion and empathy for the foster children in his state.
I don't like to talk about what I do for a living, but let me just say that I often work with disadvantaged children, including some in the foster care system, and I know first hand what kind of stigma these kids deal with every single day.
They are ripped from their families, often through no fault of their own, and find themselves bouncing from one foster home to another for years, feeling unwanted and unloved. They can suffer from a crippling lack of self esteem, and find themselves on the outside of EVERY social clique in their school, knowing full well they simply are not like the other children sitting their classrooms.
Why would you make children who already feel like cast offs themselves, walk around in cast off clothing?
Does this sorry excuse for a human being have ANY idea what kind of self esteem boost one of these kids gets from having the opportunity to go to a regular store like Old Navy, or Nordstroms, or even Wal-Mart, and pick the clothes that THEY want to wear? To know that those clothes were purchased JUST for them, and are NOT just something a wealthier kid had no more use for?
Well I have. And I have seen them wear those clothes as often as they can until they have literally grown right out of them. I have seen them crying with concern that their foster parent will not have the money to buy anything so "cool" the next shopping trip. And I have also witnessed the sense of pride they feel as they fold them up carefully and take them to the Salvation Army, so that somebody in a worse situation than they are will have the opportunity to wear the clothes that they took such pride in wearing, and that they took such pains to keep in near perfect condition.
I would suggest that this gentleman go along on a shopping trip with a foster family and see for himself how it can light up a child's face to pick a beautiful dress and know that, unlike most of the things in their lives, it is just for them. Perhaps it is hard for those of us who can get in our car and buy ourselves a new pair of pants anytime we want, to understand the joy these children feel at such a simple opportunity. But have no doubt that it can do wonders in making them feel special, and loved, and wanted."
I am reminded of the old saying that one can let others think they are stupid or they can open their mouth and remove all doubt. Caswell has removed any doubt of his stupidity and downright meanness. It is one thing to have policies that favor the rich and allow them to corner much of the nation's wealth. It is quite another to single out poor children for humiliation. It is not just ignorant, but shameful. If he had a shred of decency he would resign and never appear in public again after begging for forgiveness, but he seems to be proud of his views -- and that says a lot about him.
Undocumented Workers Pay More Taxes Than GE
There are those on the right who believe that these immigrants do not pay into the government (for services that we receive but they are largely denied). That is simply not true. While they may not receive many services, they do pay a lot of taxes. The Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy has done a study which shows that the undocumented workers in this country pay taxes at all levels of government -- for an estimated total of about $11.2 billion in a single year.
Broken down by type of taxes, these workers pay about $1.2 billion in federal income taxes (and get none of it back because they can't legally file for it), $1.6 billion in property taxes, and $8.4 billion in sales taxes. That's a lot of money, especially at this time when most levels of government are struggling to find enough money to pay the bills. The state of New York alone receives $662.4 million in tax revenue from undocumented worker's families (and they are just fourth in this revenue -- with California, Texas, and Florida all receiving even more).
Now some of you may say that $1.2 billion in federal income taxes is not a lot when compared to the deficit being run by the government (and it certainly wouldn't begin to cover that deficit). But when compared to the taxes paid by some American corporations, it is a lot more. Consider General Electric (GE). GE made worldwide profits of $14.2 billion last year -- and $5.1 billion of that was made in the United States. They paid NOTHING in federal income taxes -- which is $1.2 billion less than undocumented workers paid.
But it gets even worse than that. GE not only didn't pay any taxes, but they received a rebate from the government of $3.2 billion. It sounds to me like GE has contributed more to the deficit and this country's economic woes that undocumented immigrants have.
But the immigrants have no political power, while GE has the money to hire lobbyists and pay off politicians -- and money can buy a lot of good will (and power) in a representative democracy. So the immigrants are demonized and corporations like GE (and there are far to many like GE) are portrayed as saviors of the economy. It seems to me that this view is backwards.
Taxation - Republican Style
That road was built by state Democrats, and they kept their word by ceasing to collect the tax once the road's costs had been recovered. But Republicans rule this state now, and they do things a little differently. They still build toll roads, but the tax levied on those who use those toll roads don't go to the state anymore. They go to a private corporation -- a private foreign corporation -- which uses those taxes to fatten their own bank accounts.
A few years ago, Governor Perry wanted to build a huge tollway running the north-south length of Texas. The tollway would be built and operated by a Spanish company (Cintra), who would collect tolls for at least 50 years -- while the state would be responsible for repairs and even paying Cintra if collections fell below expected levels. It was a ridiculous idea and it was stopped by the citizens of Texas.
At the time I had hoped that such ridiculous schemes were a thing of the past. Not so. The Republicans were able to get a tollway approved in Tarrant County (Fort Worth), and while it was needed, it certainly doesn't look like a good deal for taxpayers. The idea was originally that the Spanish company would build the road with their own funds and then collect the tolls until about 2061 to turn their investment into a profit. But it didn't quite work out that way.
It seems that the state still supplied $573 million dollars (while Cintra put in $427 million of its own money, and got about $400 million in federally-backed bonds and another $650 million from a federal government loan). Once the road is built Cintra will collect from $1.20 to $6.50 in tolls for the next 50 years, while the state and county maintains and repairs the road. This was nothing more than a 50 year tax which will be paid to a private foreign company instead of the state. It was a bad deal for Texans, but it was approved and nothing could be done to stop it.
Now it seems the idiots in the Republican-dominated state legislature wants to resume doing these kinds of deals -- giveaways of state roads for the enrichment of private corporations. They are considering bills that would approve other tollways -- where a private corporation would build and partially pay for a road in exchange for the right to collect tolls (taxes) for the next 50 years. Then once the road is worn out, it would revert back to the state to be rebuilt (or resold to the same or another corporation).
The state does need some new roadways, especially in the urban areas. But it would make a lot more sense to raise the gas tax and make these roads free for all drivers and still under state ownership. Our infrastructure should not be leased off to private corporations.
But the Republicans promised not to raise taxes, so they instead will lease out state roads and let private corporations charge exorbitant tolls. These are nothing more than taxes, but the Republicans can say they kept their word by calling them tolls and watching the money go into corporate coffers instead of the state's treasury.
Democrats might raise some state taxes, but they would not give state roads to private companies and would keep the money raised by those taxes for the benefit of the people of Texas. Republicans on the other hand, give away the roads and the taxes to corporations. Frankly, this makes no sense and I can't see how the people of Texas are benefitted (except for Republican legislators who will probably get large campaign donations).
Republicans might not call this taxation, but that's what it is. It's just a shame these taxes won't help most Texans. And state infrastructure should not be owned or controlled by private corporations. What will the Republicans do after they've sold the state to corporate interests -- start selling the people too?
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Zombie Invasion (33 A.D.)
51 At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split 52 and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. 53 They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people.
Isn't it amazing though that such an earth-shattering event wasn't reported by anyone except the writer of Matthew? Wouldn't one have thought that such a one-of-a-kind never-before-happened thing like the dead rising and appearing to the living would be considered a newsworthy happening -- worthy of at least a mention? I think the unexpected appearance of a horde of zombies would cause quite a panic these days.
(A tip of the hat goes to the great blog, no gods allowed.)
Arab Dictators Continue To Crumble
Yesterday, another dictator agreed to give up power. Ali Abdullah Saleh, who had ruled Yemen for the last 32 years, has agreed to resign within 30 days and turn power over to his vice-president, who will then call for quick (and hopefully) free elections. The dictator was left with few options after the demonstrations just kept getting larger in that country (with hundreds of thousands turning out last Friday) and Army officers began to defect and join the demonstrators. Saleh had tried both violence against the protesters and offers of concessions, but neither had worked.
And it doesn't look like the dictator in Syria's decision to violently oppose demonstrators is working very well either. Bashar Assad ordered his troops to fire on tens of thousands of people joining a funereal procession last weekend for dead protesters -- bringing the death toll just for the last two days to over 120 people. He has also ordered his secret police to arrest protest leaders. But none of this seems to be working. In fact, his government may be starting to fall apart -- since two government officials and a religious leader resigned over the weekend saying they were disgusted by the violence. Although it is too early to tell for sure, it looks like the Assad government may fall soon.
And things are not looking too good for Gadhafi in Libya either. Some had said the situation was starting to look like a stalemate, but government forces seem to have withdrawn from Misrata over the weekend and the rebels are now claiming victory there. The rebels also captured a border post a couple of days ago. With the help of some troops from France, Italy and Great Britain sent to teach them some military planning and organization, the rebels could soon seize the initiative again in that country. And with NATO saying they will continue operations until Gadhafi gives up power, I still think he will not be able to hold on much longer.
There have also been demonstrations in Bahrain, but the Saudis have sent troops in there and virtually taken over the country. They are afraid that unrest there could spill over into their own country (ruled by a king with absolute power) and they are willing to be very brutal to prevent that. In his own country, the Saudi king has banned all demonstrations and so far has been successful in preventing any uprising there. It's anyone's guess as to whether he will be successful in the long run. But one thing's for certain -- demonstrators in Saudi Arabia can't count on any American help. There's just too much oil there, and while America talks big about freedom there is little doubt that it will take second place to continuing the flow of Saudi oil.
Is democracy truly coming to the Arab world? It's too early to tell right now. The old dictators could simply be replaced by new ones, or these countries could devolve into theistic dictatorships like in Iran. But there is a real possibility that the new governments could really be representative democracies. After all, stranger things have happened (who would have thought a tiny sparsely populated colony could defeat the most powerful monarchy in the world and establish a democracy in the latter 18th century?).
For now, all we can do is wait and see -- and hope for the best.
Trump Still Hot Among Republican Candidates
Now a new poll shows just what several others have recently shown -- that Trump is in the lead among Republicans (although tied with Huckabee for that lead in this poll). It's still a long way until the nomination, but Trump has already shown that the other candidates are going to have to take him seriously. But no candidate has yet gotten the kind of numbers that would make him/her a prohibitive favorite and the race is still wide open.
What's even more surprising, at least for me, has been the fall in the polls of two other candidates -- Mitt Romney and Sarah Palin, who were once thought to be the leading candidates. There is still time for one or both of them to make a comeback, but if they don't show something soon they may start finding it hard to raise enough money to compete (since few people want to waste money on a candidate that can't win).
Here is the newest Gallup Poll (conducted April 15th through April 20th of 1,047 Republicans or Republican-leaning Independents):
Donald Trump...............16%
Mike Huckabee...............16%
Mitt Romney...............13%
Sarah Palin...............10%
Ron Paul...............6%
Newt Gingrich...............6%
Michele Bachmann...............4%
Mitch Daniels...............3%
Tim Pawlenty...............3%
Rick Santorum...............2%
Haley Barbour...............2%
John Huntsman...............1%
Gary Johnson...............*
Chris Christie...............*
Herman Cain...............*
Other...............1%
None/No Opinion...............14%
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