"It's not just about the economy, stupid!".
This week, the day after the President's first speech to Congress, my delivery driver (guy in brown outfit) and I had a brief discussion of the speech and the current state of the economy. He had mentioned that a nearby business is closing their doors. When I found out why, I blew a fuse!
Boston Tea Party - Revisited
The reason given was that the owner was ticked off about taxes going up. I furrowed my brow and was a bit confused. I was under the impression that only people who were making over $250,000 in income would be paying higher taxes. The driver smiled and indicated that this person was easily making that kind of money. She was closing her business so she wouldn't have to pay higher taxes to the government. At least that's what the story was.
To make matters worse, several employees were being put out of a job!
It's Good To Share
Whether or not the story was entirely the truth, the fact it might be partially factual pisses me off. People get so wrapped up in trying to "protect what is theirs" they lose sight of the big picture. Now more than ever, the "Haves" should be helping the "Have Nots". The wealthy can afford to shoulder more of the tax burden.
(We certainly will need to maintain a police force to help stem the looting and riots when the economy collapses. These lucky few will need all the help they can get to protect their valuables....)
There is a social cost to this kind of selfish greed. I also believe in Karma.
Outsourced Economy
For years, corporations have been outsourcing labor overseas and constantly cost cutting to get rid of "the fat". What may be cheap in the short-term can end up expensive in the long-run. We are dangerously close to off-shoring all of our manufacturing and much of our labor. I shudder to think that another Depression is quite possible!
I would rather make less money and pay higher taxes if it would keep people in their jobs and homes.
