Sunday Morning Coming Down

I'm getting ready to send checks to the IRS.  I'm ok with this.  The government needs money to function but there is a point at which higher taxes will not help society or individuals.  "We pretend to work and they pretend to pay us". Whether you like it or not government taxes are a way to redistribute wealth.  I think it would be more fair if government worked towards a more fair and equal distribution of wealth.  There are more than a few people that think the opposite is happening. If those making the same amount, paid the same amount of taxes and if those that made more money also paid more in taxes there would be better horizontal and vertical equality in the system.  Blue skies smiling at me, case closed. But that is not the way things are.  There are many ideas of what is fair and what is not fair. I know that if tax rates are too high, if different kinds of income are treated differently, if the system is hard to adminis...

Sunday Morning Came Down and it was wierd.  The internal clock wasn't working well and I got up in the dark.  (Still hungover from the time and a poor nights sleep wondering how much it would cost to my truck which had conked out Saturday Morning.) A cable TV was running a tribute to Hunter Thompson the writer credited with starting "Gonzo Journalism".  y I've Fear and Loathing On the Campaign Trail 1972 and Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas where the reporter and the story and the reporter's feelings about the subjects of the piece were completely mixed.  So much for fair and balanced.  I admit I like his style and liked it much more when I was in 20's and 30's. One of the sadder aspects of the program seemed be that Thompson had two persona's but was more or less trapped by the "Raoul Duke" character he was called on to play as part of his writing or speaking.  I can only imagine what it might have been like if he could toned d...

The big man does what he wants, the little man does what he can.  This is a Haitian proverb according to Ethan Casey.  In the context of the latest atrocity in Afghanistan where an American soldier killed 16 people in Afghanistan this is a moment to stand down.  Who are we? What are we doing there?  Legally, the insanity defense and apologies from the President are probably not going to matter in this case. Abusers forget, the abused don't. This doesn't mean defense argument and the apologies aren't real. It means that we are becoming the people we are fighting.  Going forward, this is where we need to realize the limits of our power and the implication of the use of power. Going to war without declaring war is a policy that should be avoided. The all volunteer army seems like a good idea but does it contribute to many unintended consequences of war. Is there a point where our defense spending that exceeds the defense spending o...

The job numbers and the election cycle meet monthly when the Department of Labor announces if there has been job growth or decline and the unemployment rate as a percentage of the people participating in the labor market. This is also a place where one needs to decide if those who govern are doing their job.  Does the policy implemented by Congress or the President do what it should be doing. There are an almost infinite variety of paths that can be taken related to jobs policy.  The public sector can add jobs directly through public service employment or it can support activities that will indirectly increase employment where the private sector hires people to do things the government wants done. The growth in the economy has not included public sector employment.  State and local governments are laying people off to balance their budgets. Twenty three months of recovery after the worst of the worst of the recession/depression we are stuck with the part...

National Geographic Channel has a show that highlights people who are preparing for the end of days.  They know how to use guns, they have bought supplies that will lasts for months if not years and they have camps far from even suburban areas. I know these are difficult times.  I bottle water, have can goods, a radio I can crank up if the power fails, and can put together important documents if I have to evacuate during a serious hurricane because I live in Florida. Snow and ice, tornadoes, earthquakes, floods and other untold natural disasters make having some sort of plan a prudent thing. There have been religious leaders that periodically predict the end of the world as we know it.  Art Bell on his over night radio program trumpeted the Y2K disaster that would make modern life impossible.  Then there was the prediction of an impending collision between the earth and an asteroid and the ever present possibility of nuclear Armageddon. During the 196...

There has been much made of the "social, cultural, and religious issues" that have invaded the recent political discussion in the Republican Primary Season.  Availabilty of contraception through insurance versus religious freedom as practiced by some is only one of several issues being discussed.  There has always been a tension between national laws and individual freedom.  There are religious organizations that are being asked to pay for something that they don't agree with.  Is this deal killer for religious liberty as we know it?  I doubt it.  It's an issue but even within any organization or institution there is hardly ever unanimity on an issue.  This what compromise and tolerance is all about.  The idea that the use of contraception is preferavle to unwanted pregnancy and abortion is hardly unique and the fact that most people use contraception most of the time is not contraversial.  Men calling women sluts by implication i...