Letters to the Editor
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Timberman goes where he shouldn't ..... again
It makes me reflect on all the flim-flams the conservatives have come up with over the years in their zeal to discredit the the income redistribution mechanisms set up by the New Deal and its successors.
You would do well to remember most of Wall St is Democrat. John Corzine and Robert Rubin spring immediately to mind.
The first of these, the appropriately named Laffer Curve, was offered as a universal solution to the inconvenience of forcing the rich to share with the poor. It was magical, and shiny, and largely wrong.
Clinton illustrated the Laffer Curve's worth with the capital tax cut of 1997, bringing in so much revenue he was able to "balance" the budget.
Well yes, said liberals, mutual funds and IRAs are clever, and could very well help people supplement their pensions, but 401K's -- apart from their portability -- don't look like such a good deal,
Wait until benefits start being cut in Social Security. I have little doubt there will also be a means test in the offing.
Well, said liberals, it's nice that we can spread the benefit of home-ownership more broadly, but we should be careful about selling things to people that they can't really afford,
I can agree with this. Poor people should not be allowed stuff they can't afford, houses, large screen TV's, new cars, credit cards, and so forth. Perhaps there should be an agency to make sure poor people spend their money wisely. You know, make sure they buy health insurance and such.
We liberals think that it might be time to revisit the Great Reagan Revolution, perhaps with a pitchfork, a torch, and a length of stout rope. What do you think?
Considering that the poor pay next to nothing in federal taxes, and the top 20% pay something like 85%, you're just wanting to grab somebody else's money. Tsk.
Who is greedier, the person that wants to keep more of what he earns, or the person that covets those earnings for himself?
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WT, Darn it, is there no end to my shame?
I have an Atlantic subscription. Now the only the only one I will have left is The Nation. Would it be OK to take on a Harpers subscription? I like Scott Horton a lot. Let me know, I can’t take any more of this shame.
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Who is greedier, the person that wants to keep more of what he earns, or the person that covets those earnings for himself
That would depend on whether the "coveter" was homeless and starving, now wouldn't it?
But then again, the tendency to reduce all policy questions to yes/no dichotomies and then brag that most Americans are too stupid to notice the deception is pretty much classic Shooter.
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@jayackroyd - Oh yeah?
LWM
The slogan is "Privatize the profits. Socialize the losses."
jayackroyd
Wanna armwrestle? I got a good buzz going.
Macgupta,
You need to find some Real Serious People to read. Mindless Dreck is what she does. No matter which way she blows, she always blows stupid. You can't escape the stupid, no matter how many times you re-invent yourself.
From the desk of Mindles H. Dreck:
whole lotta breedin' goin' on
On the subject of terrorism being bred from poverty - go Stuart Buck, go Mark Steyn. I'm on the worst internet connection in the world right now, so that's all.
Posted by Mindles H. Dreck at 12:41 PM
I sent this article to Glenn Reynolds this morning, and, lo and behold, he posted it this afternoon. In some ways, this is inspiration for me to create my own weblog. Unfortunately, there is no way I can keep up with Reynolds or the many others I try to read regularly.
Even if you don�t buy Postrel�s new spectrum of �dynamists� and �stasists�, recent events have certainly created many strange bedfellows. I find this particularly interesting and would love to hear your thoughts.
About me
I'm in the money management business. My offices are a few blocks from the former World Trade Center. Like many "warbloggers" I read, my proximity to this historic event is one of the reasons I'm recording my thoughts.
Posted by Mindles H. Dreck at 9:04 PM
http://www.janegalt.net/archives/2001_10.php
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The Laffer Curve trends downward
L.W.M., it seems that I, too, can summon demons. This one, however, has no defense against the flames of history, to which he'll shortly be consigned. Ave atque vale, shooter.
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earnings?
One doesn't have to be a Marxist to marvel at how a plumber's earnings could be conflated with a hedge fund manager's.
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@William Timberman
Sucks, don't it? The responsibilty of that awesome power is a great weight on one's shoulders.
Honestly, Shooter. It's you who has gone where you shouldn't. Whay aren't you out golfing... or ralphing?
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TimHowe
You said: People Time
"Time is People for people who think they are smarter than the average demographics of People readers. It's time all people stop reading Time and turn only to People, where they'll get the same level of information and accuracy without any pretence to relevance."
Nice.
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BlueMeme
"HBO...offers a stirring paenan to John Adams and his fellow founders, who valued civil liberties and the rule of law above all, and sacrificed personal comfort and safety to seek them."
Yes, but it was boring as F*&^%!
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Heh...
Who is greedier, the person that wants to keep more of what he earns, or the person that covets those earnings for himself
That's all well and good when you have the equation wrong.
The right to keep the product of your labor -- money.
Benjamin Tucker would say, "The natural wage of labor is the product." He did say that.
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@WT
I'm not sure but do you get the sense that Shooter is fetishizing commodities?
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@ RMP
Well, look at it this way: He prepareth a table for me in the presence of my enemies.
Avoid the disgusting bits, and the fare can be pretty nourishing, even tasty. With The Atlantic, it's a bit more difficult, I admit, given the chef's penchant for disguising turds as cannoli, but caveat emptor is the rule everywhere in the great feast of democracy, is it not?
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I'm just thankful that you have a platform
Salon may have its faults, but I will be forever greatful that they have allowed you a spot behind their megaphone.
If anyone had doubts that it makes a difference, events of the past 3 months should eliminate them decisively.