Here's a tidbit from Molly Ivins
Apr. 30th, 2004 10:15 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
weaktwosYou can find the article here.
I don't understand why not-so-rich republicans have such cows about tax increases. Molly explains it clearly:
Here's the trick President Bush and all the rest of these Republicans are running on you. They tell you they're giving you a big tax cut, but all that happens is they cut taxes on rich people and throw more and more of the tax burden back on the middle class. You get a hundred bucks back, B. Rapoport (who doesn't need the money) gets back $60 grand, and they tell you to be grateful for your big tax cut. They cut the taxes on dividends, which is money people don't work for, and increase taxes on the money you do have to work for. I've been watching the Texas Legislature for 35 years, and I know why our tax system is so screwed. It's because big corporate interests and special interest lobbyists pony up the campaign contributions for politicians to run on. So when the pols get in office, they owe lumber interests and insurance, oil, banking and chemical. They're supposed to represent you, the people of this state, but they don't, they represent their campaign contributors. And you can't imagine how many slick ways the lobbyists dream up for letting those big contributors off the tax hook. For the big corporate interests, even a huge campaign contribution is just pennies on the hundreds of millions they buy themselves in tax breaks.
I think perhaps the crux of this is campaign reform. In matters of governmental representation, we should not have our campaigns "privatized" such that politicians must rely on contributions from businesses/wealthy people. What you spend on the campaign should be fixed. No big campaign contributions, the only thing we have to worry about is electing people who don't have personal investments in big business. The needs of the businesses and the people need to be balanced.
I don't understand why not-so-rich republicans have such cows about tax increases. Molly explains it clearly:
Here's the trick President Bush and all the rest of these Republicans are running on you. They tell you they're giving you a big tax cut, but all that happens is they cut taxes on rich people and throw more and more of the tax burden back on the middle class. You get a hundred bucks back, B. Rapoport (who doesn't need the money) gets back $60 grand, and they tell you to be grateful for your big tax cut. They cut the taxes on dividends, which is money people don't work for, and increase taxes on the money you do have to work for. I've been watching the Texas Legislature for 35 years, and I know why our tax system is so screwed. It's because big corporate interests and special interest lobbyists pony up the campaign contributions for politicians to run on. So when the pols get in office, they owe lumber interests and insurance, oil, banking and chemical. They're supposed to represent you, the people of this state, but they don't, they represent their campaign contributors. And you can't imagine how many slick ways the lobbyists dream up for letting those big contributors off the tax hook. For the big corporate interests, even a huge campaign contribution is just pennies on the hundreds of millions they buy themselves in tax breaks.
I think perhaps the crux of this is campaign reform. In matters of governmental representation, we should not have our campaigns "privatized" such that politicians must rely on contributions from businesses/wealthy people. What you spend on the campaign should be fixed. No big campaign contributions, the only thing we have to worry about is electing people who don't have personal investments in big business. The needs of the businesses and the people need to be balanced.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2004-04-30 11:37 am (UTC)All of the politicians want the office for the power to make themselves richer.
The homeless guy would just be thrilled to have a (white) house to live in, rent free, for 4 years.
And the 200k/year paycheck is nothing to Dubya, but to this guy (or me) it would be amazing riches.
no subject
Date: 2004-04-30 11:09 pm (UTC)Personally, I think I'd rather be answering the phone at a university help desk.
no subject
Date: 2004-04-30 11:23 pm (UTC)