I am ASHAMED of our tax laws. They are something out of the decaying Ottoman empire, not the greatest country on Earth. That our political system is incapable of doing anything except make them worse shakes my confidence in our government to the core.
I agree with that. I agreed with you on it yesterday and I agree today. The issue that Tim and I were discussing was high income taxes, not indecipherable tax law. Different issue.
It is evidence that there is a FUNDAMENTAL flaw in our system of government.
I agree with that, too.
No progress will be made in fixing this problem until we can achieve a consensus that there is a problem, that the problem is fundamental, that we are attacking an INJUSTICE.
Now I see why you are so emphatic about labeling it an injustice. You think that's what it takes to get something done about it. Well, you may be right about that.
As for the "FUNDAMENTAL flaw in our system of government," I think your point about labeling something injustice is part of that flaw. There's so much hyperbole, so much petty partisanship, so much sound-bite presentation of issues, so many superficial polls, so many shouting heads, such limited attention span and capacity for thoughtful consideration on the part of the voters, so much careless layering of law on top of law and so much incitement to causes of "injustice" that it's impossible to get leadership that can see clearly and talk straight. So, on one hand, I appreciate your wanting to get attention for what is clearly a serious symptom by shouting "injustice." On the other hand, your approach of choice would IMO contribute to the problem. Perhaps the ends justify the means. Or maybe it be better to address the real problem rather than mitigate one of the symptoms, however onerous. I'd rather attack the matter of the tax code in a more constructive way, perhaps on the basis of cost/benefit and productivity.
Karen |
