stupind wingnut email and my response

[el_gato]

suggestions for improvement please

the email:
-------------------------------------


WHAT HAPPENED???

Accounts Receivable Tax
Building Permit Tax
Capital Gains Tax
CDL license Tax
Cigarette Tax
Corporate Income Tax
Court Fines (indirect taxes)
Dog License Tax
Federal Income Tax
Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA)
Fishing License Tax
Food License Tax
Fuel permit tax
Gasoline Tax (42 cents per gallon)
Hunting License Tax
Inheritance Tax Interest expense (tax on the money)
Inventory tax IRS Interest Charges (tax on top of tax)
IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax)
Liquor Tax
Local Income Tax
Luxury Taxes
Marriage License Tax
Medicare Tax
Property Tax
Real Estate Tax
Septic Permit Tax
Service Charge Taxes
Social Security Tax
Road Usage Taxes (Truckers)
Sales Taxes
Recreational Vehicle Tax
Road Toll Booth Taxes
School Tax
State Income Tax
State Unemployment Tax (SUTA)
Telephone federal excise tax
Telephone federal universal service fee tax
Telephone federal, state and local surcharge taxes
Telephone minimum usage surcharge tax
Telephone recurring and non-recurring charges tax
Telephone State and local tax
Telephone usage charge tax
Toll Bridge Taxes
Toll Tunnel Taxes
Traffic Fines (indirect taxation)
Trailer registration tax
Utility Taxes
Vehicle License Registration Tax
Vehicle Sales Tax
Watercraft registration Tax
Well Permit Tax
Workers Compensation Tax

Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago and our nation was the most
prosperous in the world, had absolutely no national debt, had the largest
middle class in the world........... and Mom stayed home to raise the kids!

What the hell happened?
---------------------------------------------------


My Response:

-----------------------------------------------------


Well, while I agree with the overall sentiment of that email there are a few problems.

Here they are:

First, 100 years ago this nation was ruled by oligarchs like John D. Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie. It's the same way today except the oligarchs are people like Rupert Murdoch.

Secondly, the high point of the American middle class was in the 1970's. It's gone down hill ever since.

Third, at only 1.2 percent of the economy over the past two fiscal years, corporate taxes are at their lowest level since the 1930s

Fourth, most recent OECD data show that U.S. corporate taxes as a share of the economy are now virtually the lowest in the industrialized world.

So over the past 30 years more and more of the tax burden has been shifting to the middle class. Now with the proliferation of off-shore tax shelters and the re-incorportion off-shore
companies such as GE don't have to pay taxes anymore. Another example is Halliburton, a recipient of massive amounts of our tax dollars, has offshore holdings in the Cayman Islands.

We have all this phoney rhetoric from republicans about "smaller government" but the size
of the federal government under bush has doubled since he came into office. Any working class person who thinks they are gonna get a break out of these double-talking crooks is delusional.

So the question is do I think we should get rid of all these taxes? My answer is Yes, but
that also means the elimination of all systems that are supported by these taxes such as
Ashcrofts nefarious Homeland fascism plan, Bush's imperial invasion of Iraq, and $87 billion
that is being turned over to Halliburton, Bechtel, and Dyncorp.

Oh, and by the way, 100 years ago women didn't have the right to vote either. So if this
person wants to know what happened I suggest they do some research.

-------------------------------------------------


suggestions?

[trotsky]

1. 100 years ago

No child labor laws.
Defacto slavery / segregation in the South.
No social security.
No unemployment.
No workers comp. (You got hurt working in the coal mine? Tough.)
No limit on length of work week. A lot of jobs were 10-12 hours a day, 7 days a week.
No requirement to give employees vacation time.

I'm sure there's tons more...

Hmm, myself, I'd MUCH rather pay all those taxes and live under the system today than not pay them and live under the system of 100 years ago.

[walkon]

3. Why not go back 1000 years?

What were taxes like then? That list may be factual but it only exemplifies ignorance in the conclusions that follow. Ignorance is our enemy.

[Guaranteed]

4. Right....

also very few/little phones, electricity, paved roads, governmental services, MILITARY TECHNOLOGY, health care, automobiles, etc.

[SharonAnn]

7. Only upper class women stayed home to raise kids. Others

worked, either at home or in a workplace. And they worked for vbery little pay.

And there was typhoid, diptheria, polio, pneumonia (that killed 50% of patients).

No protection from spousal abuse, rape, venereal disease.

Food processing companies (meat packers et al) routinely sold contaminated food.

Contractors built badly built buildings that caught fire, fell down, leaked, etc.

Etc, etc, etc

[elfwitch]

8. working women and rights...

My grandmother worked ALL THE TIME with no protections on the job.

When she got her first office job in 1951, about 2 months in she found out she was pregnant (with my Mom). She hid her pregnancy for as long as she could. Once her employer found out about her condition, she was fired. They could do that back then.

[oldleftguy]

2. Well done!

You might mention the workforce now needs education and the technology involved in the means of production demands intervention by the government.

[GumboYaYa]

5. I would add:

And by the way, we will be sending someone over to collect your phones soon. Please be aware that if you want to drive that SUV anywhere, you will need to build and maintain the road yourself. As for any bridges you plan to cross, we will be closing those until private citizens band together and contribute the money to maintain them. Please disconnect your plumbing from your septic service as well, unless you are willing to dispose of and treat the waste in there yourself. We will no longer be providing this public service. Also, we agree that corporations should not be treated as separate enties for tax purposes so we will no longer tax coporations, but we expect the shareholders of the corporation to be responsible for any and all debts of the company since they are essentially one and the same. We also......

[Bandit]

6. So much for the Bridge to the 21st Century

Regressive is too kind a word for these folks. They wish to return to the stone age. I guess they don't like driving on Freeways or having a postal service or electricity. What bumpkins.