Dear Wing Nut,
Aye, I agree with you on my sources. They are pretty pathetic. I read a lot of things, but unfortunately don’t always remember where I get certain information. Call it lazy, but last time I checked I wasn’t signed up for debate 101. I realize biased and sloppy sources drastically discredit my thoughts, but unfortunately time is of the essence. I’ll research my previous points in the near future, to bring my ideas back up to par.
For the rest of your reply, I’m just going to quickly point out one part and why I think it isn’t inaccurate. Not in very much detail, as I don’t really have time to research atm.
-The rich aren’t going to be taxed 70% or 90%, EVEN THOUGH they control over 90% of the wealth in this country. And as you may already know, we have a progressive tax for a very good reason. The rich get more out of the government. Yes I am saying it, the rich get more from the government.
Defense – If someone has more to defend, as in more at stake, it makes sense that they have to pay more for defense. Someone who has more, has more to defend. Which is partly why they get taxed more.
SSI -Social security payments, which make up another 20% of the budget, are dependent on income– if you’ve put more into the system, you get higher payments when you retire.
Investments in the nation’s infrastructure- transportation, education, research & development, energy, police subsidies, the courts, etc.– again are more useful the more you have. The interstates and airports benefit interstate commerce and people who can travel, not ghetto dwellers. Energy is used disproportionately by the rich and by industry.
Education- A good chunk of public school funding comes from state property taxes (at least in Texas), and obviously schools that sit on expensive land with extremely wealthy suburbs as their surroundings are clearly going to benefit more. This isn’t some misconception, some myth. If the wealth issue in schools didn’t have an effect, why do the numbers say other wise? It is clear that wealthier more funded school systems are going to have the edge over lesser funded schools. The opportunity for a rich kid to get into trouble, to make bad grades, to flunk out, IS MUCH LESS than a kid in a poor section. And don’t tell me the opportunity is equal for all public schools, BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT. I went to a high school where we didn’t even have Advanced Placement Courses, because we simply didn’t have enough funding. So tell me, how is that fair again?
Beyond all this, the federal budget is top-heavy with corporate welfare. Counting tax breaks and expenditures, corporations and the rich snuffle up over $400 billion a year- compare that to the $116 billion spent on programs for the poor.
Your’s Truely,
Flaming Libbie
P.S. I have been to all the states of the Southern Rainbow. As I said before, I go to Texas A&M University, and I can tell you first hand racism is still strong in the Lone Star state. It’s not as blatant or up-front, thank god, but the backdoor racism is overwhelming. You guys probably didn’t hear about this, but their was a egg tossing of Obama’s face on my own very campus. Also, if I do recall, their were certain parts of the Dallas Fort Worth School district that didn’t even de-segregate until the 1990’s.