Friday, May 21, 2004
War on Terror is a Non - Issue for the election
Many, Many people will vote for Kerry over Bush because they feel strongly about the war in Iraq. Despite the press coverage of the war it is a small issue and you should NOT cast your vote on it.
American has been in a war against terror for over 25 years. The effect of terrorist on America and Americans is a rounding error at best. Yes losing 3000 people and the WTC was a terrible blow to the economy of NYC, but if the effect of terrorism was the problem we could have taken the 5 billion a month we are spending in Iraq to compensate the victims of 9/11 and other terrorist acts with money to spare.
But then people say but soldiers and civilians are dying, this is a life or death issue. But that is bullshit, everything is a life or death issues. More Frenchmen died in a heat wave last summer than all of the Iraqis and Americans killed during the entire conflict. To put it is perspective About 11000 Iraqi and Americans have died in the conflict while in America 15,000 people have died of AIDS.
Its a common problem to believe news coverage equals importance. Clinton fought multiple wars with minimal press coverage. I suspect if Kerry gets elected Iraq will slowly fall off the front page and it will continue as it does today, with good days and bad days, just like our "occupation" of Japan and South Korea.
By any rational analysis the war on terror is not a big deal.
Yes I still want to stomp on the assholes of the world and to use our power to make the world a better place.
But no matter how you cut it, health care, tax policy, education policy, economic policy are much much bigger issues to care about for the election.
Think about the real issues before you vote.
Many, Many people will vote for Kerry over Bush because they feel strongly about the war in Iraq. Despite the press coverage of the war it is a small issue and you should NOT cast your vote on it.
American has been in a war against terror for over 25 years. The effect of terrorist on America and Americans is a rounding error at best. Yes losing 3000 people and the WTC was a terrible blow to the economy of NYC, but if the effect of terrorism was the problem we could have taken the 5 billion a month we are spending in Iraq to compensate the victims of 9/11 and other terrorist acts with money to spare.
But then people say but soldiers and civilians are dying, this is a life or death issue. But that is bullshit, everything is a life or death issues. More Frenchmen died in a heat wave last summer than all of the Iraqis and Americans killed during the entire conflict. To put it is perspective About 11000 Iraqi and Americans have died in the conflict while in America 15,000 people have died of AIDS.
Its a common problem to believe news coverage equals importance. Clinton fought multiple wars with minimal press coverage. I suspect if Kerry gets elected Iraq will slowly fall off the front page and it will continue as it does today, with good days and bad days, just like our "occupation" of Japan and South Korea.
By any rational analysis the war on terror is not a big deal.
Yes I still want to stomp on the assholes of the world and to use our power to make the world a better place.
But no matter how you cut it, health care, tax policy, education policy, economic policy are much much bigger issues to care about for the election.
Think about the real issues before you vote.
Monday, May 17, 2004
50 Years after Brown vs. Bd of Education
Today education system is still segregated by socio-economic factors. And since socio-economic factors are still strongly affected by past and continuing racism we still have a racist school system. The reason socio-economic factors affect school so strongly is because schools are funded by local dollars. If you want to change the country you make it a national priority and you fund it nationally, whether its social security which has reduced poverty in people over 65 to below that of children, or mortgage tax deduction.
If we are ever to have a chance of equal educational opportunity we need to have a federally funded educational system. And like our excellent college system that people come from all over the world to experience the parents and children should be able to choose where they spend their educational dollars to have the most diverse and most effective school system.
I believe that we need to have 10k educational tax credit for every child from birth to age 20.
Today education system is still segregated by socio-economic factors. And since socio-economic factors are still strongly affected by past and continuing racism we still have a racist school system. The reason socio-economic factors affect school so strongly is because schools are funded by local dollars. If you want to change the country you make it a national priority and you fund it nationally, whether its social security which has reduced poverty in people over 65 to below that of children, or mortgage tax deduction.
If we are ever to have a chance of equal educational opportunity we need to have a federally funded educational system. And like our excellent college system that people come from all over the world to experience the parents and children should be able to choose where they spend their educational dollars to have the most diverse and most effective school system.
I believe that we need to have 10k educational tax credit for every child from birth to age 20.
Sunday, May 16, 2004
Helping Low-Wage Americans – Wage Based Tax Credits: A New Solution to an Age Old Problem
The near-universal conclusion of decades of economic research is that minimum wage increases diminish total employment and destroy opportunities for entry-level employees. Moreover, most of the benefits associated with minimum wage hikes accrue to non-poor families. The EITC, in contrast, increases poor Americans’ income and work-effort, without destroying job opportunities. Despite these well-documented realities, impending national elections—coupled with the superficial appeal of minimum wage increases—will once again lure lawmakers into promoting one of our least effective anti-poverty programs. But there is a better way.
