Let me get this straight, you are a lawyer and your husband is an engineer in Fairfax; which puts your current or near term earnings potential somewhere in the $200,000 - $500,000 annual earnings range?
I feel fairly confident in these numbers, since, I lived and worked in the DC area as an engineer for over 15 years. If you aren't making that much, now or don't expect to in the near future, then you are giving you're labor away; either by choice or incompetence.
This of course isn't counting your investment income; which, if you don't have now, you will soon -- if you choose -- because with what you make, you have this thing called discretionary spending. Let's not count the value of those "nice things" benefits, the working poor can only dream of like matching 401k's and Health Care, complete with, dental and vision plans.
Are you claiming there is a tax policy on the table of either party that would *gasp* force you to shop at Wall Mart? BTW, Wall Mart has "nice things" too. They just sell them for less.
Poor people work hard too. Many have two and three jobs and over 50 million can't afford this "nice thing" called health care, because often that would mean giving up other "nice things" called food, shelter and clothing (much of which they buy at Wall Mart, if they can afford that).
The right wing has made this self indulgent argument for 30 years. I am not saying it doesn't have some merit, we are a capitalist society and I believe in capitalism and letting people enjoy the fruits of their labors. I too worked myself through college and supported myself (sans spouse) and after graduation subsidized others through my tax dollars to go to school and do the same. I also subsidized the education of other people's children (I have none of my own) through local property taxes via the public education system.
I am willing to bet you went to a public institution (if not, even private schools are subsidized by tax payer money in some way) of some sort or took grants or scholarships or government subsidized loans (all backed by others tax dollars).
I have never asked for any of those tax dollars back, because I believe in education as an economic tide that helps all boats rise. Not even you're cries of, "I'm entitled to think I did all this in a vacuum through hard work and sacrifice," makes me want to.
Universal health care and balanced budgets and other such things might be subsidies that work similarly to education subsidies -- I am not at all certain -- but if Europe is any indicator (check out the value of the Euro vs. Dollar). Then I am more than willing to fund it.
If not and UHC only means more people are treated like human beings, and it means a few more tax dollars out of my pocket then I am happy to do so, and more than willing to keep on working.
Even if it means I have to buy a few things at Wall Mart.
Dan D. |
