The jobs report came out today. Conservative radio hosts are frothing at the mouth how awful this proves America is, especially under President Obama. Hello? That number includes everyone over age 16, including people on Social Security and retirement pensions. The baby boomers have lived the American Dream. Dragging people out of retirement to be Walmart greeters would not prove Obama is a better leader.
Related, Mark Levin (especially) constantly says we need to do “X” for our children and grandchildren. I have no children and hence no grandchildren. I may want to do “X” because I want to leave behind a better country, not because of a directive from God to spread the seed of my tribe. Being a non-parent does not make me a second class citizen.
The “47% of American pay no income taxes” meme mostly started by Mitt Romney also ignites Conservative talk hosts to incite hate in my direction. Other than the year in Chicago, I pay no income taxes. That’s because I have -no income-. I socked away money and paid lots of taxes from 1997-2004, and live on my savings. Despite having no “income”, I am not on Food stamps, subsidized housing, Obamacare Subsidy, or any other government program. Not paying income tax does not make me a leach or parasite. Being fat does not mean hospitals should lock me out of their Emergency room as Michael Savage, Mark Levin and Laura Ingraham seem to want, I pay my own bills – than you very much, you “right to life” hypocrites.
It’s entirely possible that in 2016, I might vote for Bernie Sanders vs most of the Republican candidates. I believe in nothing Sanders wants, but at least he believes in something.
As a childfree man, I completely agree with you. Not everyone is cut out to be a parent. I’m certainly not.
I also see your point about not paying taxes doesn’t make you a parasite. Maybe the meme needs to change. Demanding someone else pay your bills? That’s another story.
That said. I’ll vote for Colonel Sanders before I vote for Bernie Sanders. At least with the colonel, I’d get 3 sides. Mmmmmmmm.
Don’t ask how they make the “gravy”. Some things are better to not know.
My brother (who visited today) lived in Burlington Vermont when Bernie was the mayor. His opinion about Bernie was not as positive as I expected. Maybe more research is in order.
Donald Trump opened this can o worms wider with his tax plan, not necessarily on purpose. If he really drops everyone with income < $25k ($50k for couples), that pushes the "group of people not paying income tax" over 50%. That's a problem as people paying $0 are more likely to demand infinite spending One of the ironies is I bet if you surveyed Taxed Enough Already (TEA) party members, many are likely paying no income tax. Tax rates are theoretical. Tax rates are not the problem - that's getting the bull charging the red cape. The spending and the mountains of related rules are the problem
The problem with “income” tax is that it taxes people for being productive and for producing the things that society needs. Most conservatives want to see the society grow and become more productive and a penalty for production does the opposite.
The main alternative is a tax on consumption. If you have a small home, small car, and eat noodles, your tax will be much less than if you have several homes, several cars and fly to Paris for breakfast. Most liberals want to see the world’s resources conserved and not wasted so a penalty for wasteful consumption should fit the bill.
The problem there is if you tax consumption, that production becomes unnecessary and the economy slows, or people rearrange their lives to avoid the VAT and/or black market economies spring up
Precisely the same reason why back in the 70s George Wallace got the only vote in Brooklyn, NY…mine. I didn’t entirely agree with him but at least I knew where he stood whereas that is really difficult to discern in a politician, as the move with the flow.
My father (who was an anti-FDR Republican) took me and my liberal Democrat mom to a George Wallace rally in Greensboro, NC shortly before Wallace was shot. It was a memorable experience on a lot of levels. My dad had a visible handicap being blind – and as more searchable content shows up, I’ve learned he frequently made himself visible to newspaper reporters who would see him and smell a story. The Secret Service eyeballed us a lot, but nobody interviewed him.