I advocate stimulus that helps people get the necessities in life. Tax policy that asks more of the well off than the poor.

Many people claim that they are nice, good, and moral. That if the government was not already taxing them to fund social relief programs, then they would give more to the poor. That’s the big thing now with the fax tea parties and protests and Republicans, that government is asserting what should be the individual prerogative of a citizen. That our country started with the notion that the local governments should be strongest and as we move further away, the state and in turn federal governments should be weaker.

However, and this is similar to arguments I’ve had with people who advocate a complete government hands-off approach to free-market capitalism, in the real world, people are not actually nice. People do not make decisions that necessarily benefit even themselves, let alone their community. When people and companies seize power for themselves, our governments and economies no longer work they way they are supposed to.

I know I’m going off on a tangent here, but let’s examine the current Republican argument, that state governments should have more power than the federal. That the states are better able to decide what is best for their citizens than the federal government. I want them to tell me, which state passed civil rights legislation before the federal government passed the civil right’s act? Which state passed women’s rights legislation before the federal government? I think the answer is none. Even in states that were considered progressive at the time. None.

So, history, barely going back 50 years shows me that I cannot trust state governments alone to ensure my life, liberty, and property.

Now, going back to the economic stimulus question, a lot of those against welfare programs and stimulus that helps with basic necessities of life are claiming that if the government stepped out, THEN they will step in, but because the government is there, their form of protest is by NOT helping their neighbors. That is bullshit. Like when people who claim to be Christians say they will stop giving to a children’s charity because it removed the word “Christian” from it’s name. The hypocrisy is so thick, my head almost explodes from even contemplating it.

When it comes to stimulus, I ask this question, in the current economic times, if I had $5000 to give to two people, one that makes $10k/yr and one that makes $100k/yr, who should I give it to? Republicans (and perhaps Conservatives) say I should give it to the rich person. And let it trickle down to the poor.

Again, that ignores the realities of life. The rich person would likely put that money in savings. Or if they spend it, it might be to buy something they want, a new TV, go on vacation, etc. That money just further goes to large companies or hotels who already are in a good position to survive and do well, and barely trickles down to their lower paid workers. On the other hand, if I give that money to the guy making $10k/yr, that money is more likely to be spent. Spent on food, clothing, perhaps a car (used), a dentist visit, doctor checkup, credit card bills.

Now, assuming that both people actually spent the money instead of saving it, we can assume that the net stimulus to the economy would be the same. However, if I gave the money to the poorer person, I’d have effectively improved his life, while the rich person sees hardly any change in quality of life. Giving the money to the poorer person has the effect of improving things in general for our society. . . a lot. The economic impact may be similar or identical, but the socio-economic impact is much different. Nearly nil when you give huge breaks to the rich, but astounding when you give the same exact breaks to the poor.

What I like about Barack’s plan, which the Republicans complained overreached being a stimulus and advanced a social agenda is that he recognizes those things. That:

1. Regardless of who you give stimulus money to, the net effect to the economy is almost the same.
2. If you spend money in such a way that you help people who need it the most, you wind up with a future that is much better for everyone.

When it comes to addressing what does the side one picks say about them, my answer is this. Those who have never truely experienced hardship and had to work their way through it, they are ignorant of how things really work in the world. And as such, their advice would always reflect that of a person who lived in the ideal world. So, I think it’s mostly ignorance and a lack of experience. There are definitely those who have a malignant purpose, but mostly ignorance abounds.

This kind of thing occurs everywhere in life. Take a kid to school, you can teach him all day long. If he never attempts to actually work through problems where he exercises what he thinks he knows, he will typically have problems at test time.

Same thing with engineering. There is a big difference between 6 years of school, and 4 years of school with 2 years of work experience. Experience, learning by doing, always exposes you to the big difference between what you think, what you’ve been taught is the world, and what the world actually is.

The same applies to racism right now. So many people say stupid things, not because they are bad people per se, but that they don’t know.

It is my belief, something that goes to the core of my being, that education has to be a combination of teaching and doing. If I could affect the political process in some way, it would be to require that our politicians spend a year working in various communities, dealing personally with their problems, not just hearing their stories, but seeing how a single mom struggles with one or two jobs and how that affects her ability to interact with her kids. To see how an otherwise smart person can destroy their lives financially because a lender offers them a mortgage that can’t really be afforded.

Anyway, if you check out my blog, from time to time I have posts on these very issues.

GOT EM!!!!!!!

mmkay. no offense but Fanti kenke stinks to me. my parents STAN for it… or STUN for it… till diabeetus came along. it smells too sweet. what is that leaf they use?

I had NO idea what a “pop” was.

that’s b/c it’s soda. shhh…don’t tell anybody, though.