Election Lessons: No Taxes!

Post #61,359 by deSitter 11/6/02 11:03:47 AM Reply	Election Lessons: No Taxes! This I am certain is why Americans are voting for Republicans. Tax initiatives everywhere were defeated. Even smokers get a break in Missouri - a proposed 55 cent per pack increase was voted down. When smokers are defended by non-smokers, there must be a fundamental cause! What the public do not understand is that by ruining the economy time and again, the Repos eat into existing revenue streams, and when the situation becomes dire, taxes go up. Once up they stay up. If the economy were healthy and the tax streams certain, one could safely lower taxes without cuts in services. This nevers happens, because once every decade the Republicans destroy the economy and one must start over from scratch. The Republicans have proven very skilled at manipulating public opinion by making the Democrats appear to be the evil tax-and-spenders, when in truth it is the Republicans themselves who constantly increase the tax burden on the middle class by shifting it away from the rich, and by destroying the economy and thus ruining the possibility of steady tax revenues. It would be easy to make this case to the people. So, one has to ask - do the Democrats have a single person of national stature who is not a mealy-mouthed excuse-making simp? -drl
Post #61,362 by inthane-chan 11/6/02 11:26:22 AM Reply	News Flash: Eastern Washington still holds state hostage. Just reporting more of the same: Our state just voted in ANOTHER set of tax cuts, axed funding, and just generally overall screwed itself. As usual, the blame can be laid squarely on the eastern half of the state, which has a long history of throwing tantrums until they Get Their Way, which generally means taking tax dollars collected in western Washington, and spending them in eastern Washington on pork projects. A quick rundown: R-51: A "highway" package, sent to the voters because eastern Washington doesn't believe in mass transit. The bill pretty much looked like what the east half wanted - roads to nowhere, tons of pork, and almost nothing for mass transit. Hell, eastern Washington doesn't HAVE traffic problems, and their roads are (arguably) in better shape than Seattle's. Voted down by both halfs of the state, due to being a turd of a package. I-776: Tim Eyeman, local demagogue, continues to rail against the evils of "taxation without representation" by basically tricking eastern Washington into repealing a tax that the King county area (Seattle) took on itself, (in a public vote!) thereby screwing the chance that we will EVER have any kind of real mass transit in the area. Yeah, it would have been expensive as all HELL, but it's better than paving the earth - which wouldn't solve anything. I-790: A bald-faced grab for power by the firefighters and police unions, placing total control on their retirement package under their power. Why is this a bad thing? Well, current rules require that any surplus be reinvested and held as a "rainy day fund" for when crap like the current economy happens. They want to "dividend" it out as increased benefits for their people, and hey, if the economy ends up tanking, well, the legislature would be REQUIRED to make up the difference. Passing by a wide margin, thank you Osama. End of world rescheduled for day after tomorrow. Something should probably be done. Please advise.
Post #61,367 by Simon_Jester 11/6/02 11:43:04 AM Reply	Actually there are lots of lessons for Democrats in this last election. First, a lot of head are going to roll. This was unexpected by them (and hit them out of the blue). Then there's going to have to be some reorganizations within the part -- a question of what they are going to focus on. Because, if they don't, and they allow Republicans to continue labeling them - they are going to continue losing.
Post #61,397 by a6l6e6x 11/6/02 1:25:39 PM Reply	Well, all the bond referendums got passed here... in Charlotte/Mecklenburg (North Carolina) for schools, roads, public housing. I suspect most people don't realize bonds, principal and interest, are paid off with tax revenues. Alex "I have a truly marvelous demonstration of this proposition which this margin is too narrow to contain. -- Pierre de Fermat (1601-1665)
Post #61,402 by jb4 11/6/02 1:57:34 PM Reply	Ross, the short answer is NO [link\|http://z.iwethey.org/forums/render/content/show?contentid=61320\|The long(er) answer is here] (P.S. I tried to use the WeeCodes, I really did. But I just couldn't get them to work, so I went back to good ol' HTML. That Suggestion post for the WeeCode atlas link next to the Random Post link is a Real Good Idea!) jb4 "About the use of language: it is impossible to sharpen a pencil with a blunt axe. It is equally vain to try to do it with ten blunt axes instead. " -- Edsger W.Dijkstra (1930 - 2002) (I wish more managers knew that...)

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