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A Proud Member of the Reality-Based Community
About Me :
I'm a grownup nerd living in the Boston burbs. I write computer programs for a living and plays for fun.
I'm married to a wonderful woman, and we share a nice little house with our daughter and our cats.
I'm a humanist, a technologist, an artist, and an idealist. I believe in reason, freedom, love, equality,
and democracy. (Did I mention that I'm
an idealist? I did, OK.)
I'm also a pragmatist and an empiricist. I reject ideology and dogma, especially when they conflict with
practical facts (i.e., pretty much always). I particularly hate willful ignorance, which tends to go hand-in-hand
with ideology and dogma.
Like the alignment of the planets, this blog gets updated as I have the time, inspiration, and inclination to do so.
Like the alignment of the planets, this blog gets updated as I have the time, inspiration, and inclination to do so.
Thursday, February 03, 2005
The Birth Tax
Hey Bush Voters! Now I have something new to thank you for!
See, I have a daughter on the way. In just a couple of months, she's going to enter this world, and thanks to years of reckless, irresponsible Republican fiscal policies, she's going to start life already $26,000 in debt!
Thanks, Bush Voters!
You can't blame the Democrats: as you can clearly see here, the Democrats have been the party of fiscal responsibility. Under Clinton, the deficit had nearly disappeared. We were even looking at budget surpluses when Bush came into office. Once you Bush voters had your say, that changed dramatically.
(Click the image for a larger view)
The Republicans have not only dramatically widened the budget deficit (which is only the yearly increase on the total national debt), they don't even pretend to care about its consequences any more. With complete domination of all three branches of government, they'd do something about it if they cared to. But thanks to the free pass you've given them, they don't think they have to do anything about it. In fact, Bush wants to add TWO TRILLION MORE to this pile of debt, in order to fund his Social Security piratization plan.
The result? My child already owes $26,000 to the federal government, and she hasn't even been born yet.
Call it The Birth Tax.
Thanks, Bush voters!
Since interest is accumulating on that money every day -- and since the Republicans haven't stopped their borrowing binge -- you can be sure that she'll owe a whole lot more by the time she's able to start paying that money back.
Bush voters, you may be too stupid to realize this, but there is only one way that money is going to be paid back. Those loans were taken out in our names, and it is our obligation to pay them back. The money will be collected in taxes and the debt will be paid. And you morons will probably think that the inevitable pain of increased taxes will be someone else's fault, because that's what Fox News will tell you.
There's another reason $26,000 is actually an understatement of the real value of the Birth Tax. See, that number is simply the national debt (about 7.6 TRILLION dollars) divided by the total population of the United States (about 295 million). But since Republican policies of the past twenty years are systematically moving the tax burden off of corporations (few of which pay any tax at all any more) and rich people (ditto), and on to working people, by the time my daughter is old enough to work, her tax burden will probably be much larger than mine is.
$26,000 is an amount which doesn't matter to a guy like Bush. If you're already rich, after all, $26,000 isn't so much. Daddy can write a check for $26,000 without breaking a sweat. Of course, for guys like Bush, who have never in their entire lives actually paid their fair share for anything, it's probably something that can be taken care of with a phone call to the right people. Right this way, sir; no, of course your ticket has already been paid for. Yes, sir. See, actually paying for things, that's for proles. Not for Bushes.
But for my daughter, $26,000 can be the difference between getting a good college education, or a mediocre one -- or none at all. It can be the difference between owning her first home at 25, or 45 -- or never. It can be the difference between getting first-rate care in a medical crisis, or poor care -- or none at all. It might literally be the difference between a long, healthy, good life, or a short and bad life. When you're just starting out, and you're middle-class like me and my daughter, $26,000 is a LOT of money.
This is the Birth Tax, the Bush tax, the most durable legacy of Republican hegemony. Long after George W. Bush has faded from memory, people will stay be paying for his profligacy and irresponsibility.
Thanks, Bush voters! You got your $300 checks?
Good, because guess what? It's not just my daughter that has to pay that back. For something like 98% of all you dopes out there, your kids will be paying it, too. And rich Republican kids will be laughing their asses off -- at you. Just like Bush is right now.
0 comments
Hey Bush Voters! Now I have something new to thank you for!
See, I have a daughter on the way. In just a couple of months, she's going to enter this world, and thanks to years of reckless, irresponsible Republican fiscal policies, she's going to start life already $26,000 in debt!
Thanks, Bush Voters!
You can't blame the Democrats: as you can clearly see here, the Democrats have been the party of fiscal responsibility. Under Clinton, the deficit had nearly disappeared. We were even looking at budget surpluses when Bush came into office. Once you Bush voters had your say, that changed dramatically.
(Click the image for a larger view)
The Republicans have not only dramatically widened the budget deficit (which is only the yearly increase on the total national debt), they don't even pretend to care about its consequences any more. With complete domination of all three branches of government, they'd do something about it if they cared to. But thanks to the free pass you've given them, they don't think they have to do anything about it. In fact, Bush wants to add TWO TRILLION MORE to this pile of debt, in order to fund his Social Security piratization plan.
The result? My child already owes $26,000 to the federal government, and she hasn't even been born yet.
Call it The Birth Tax.
Thanks, Bush voters!
Since interest is accumulating on that money every day -- and since the Republicans haven't stopped their borrowing binge -- you can be sure that she'll owe a whole lot more by the time she's able to start paying that money back.
Bush voters, you may be too stupid to realize this, but there is only one way that money is going to be paid back. Those loans were taken out in our names, and it is our obligation to pay them back. The money will be collected in taxes and the debt will be paid. And you morons will probably think that the inevitable pain of increased taxes will be someone else's fault, because that's what Fox News will tell you.
There's another reason $26,000 is actually an understatement of the real value of the Birth Tax. See, that number is simply the national debt (about 7.6 TRILLION dollars) divided by the total population of the United States (about 295 million). But since Republican policies of the past twenty years are systematically moving the tax burden off of corporations (few of which pay any tax at all any more) and rich people (ditto), and on to working people, by the time my daughter is old enough to work, her tax burden will probably be much larger than mine is.
$26,000 is an amount which doesn't matter to a guy like Bush. If you're already rich, after all, $26,000 isn't so much. Daddy can write a check for $26,000 without breaking a sweat. Of course, for guys like Bush, who have never in their entire lives actually paid their fair share for anything, it's probably something that can be taken care of with a phone call to the right people. Right this way, sir; no, of course your ticket has already been paid for. Yes, sir. See, actually paying for things, that's for proles. Not for Bushes.
But for my daughter, $26,000 can be the difference between getting a good college education, or a mediocre one -- or none at all. It can be the difference between owning her first home at 25, or 45 -- or never. It can be the difference between getting first-rate care in a medical crisis, or poor care -- or none at all. It might literally be the difference between a long, healthy, good life, or a short and bad life. When you're just starting out, and you're middle-class like me and my daughter, $26,000 is a LOT of money.
This is the Birth Tax, the Bush tax, the most durable legacy of Republican hegemony. Long after George W. Bush has faded from memory, people will stay be paying for his profligacy and irresponsibility.
Thanks, Bush voters! You got your $300 checks?
Good, because guess what? It's not just my daughter that has to pay that back. For something like 98% of all you dopes out there, your kids will be paying it, too. And rich Republican kids will be laughing their asses off -- at you. Just like Bush is right now.
