(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . I don’t mind paying taxes. I do mind paying into a rigged government. [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.', 'Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags'] Date: 2023-01-25 This month and on into the spring there are and will be many stories across many news outlets discussing the looming battle over the debt limit. Republicans vow to leverage the requirement of raising the debt limit to force cuts on other parts of the federal budget. As part of the discussion Republicans have been using some well worn – worn out – arguments. I am tired of Republicans saying cutting the federal budget is an important goal on its own. Yes, the budget deficit is important to address. But the last few decades have shown the deficit increases under Republican presidents and decreases under Democratic presidents. When a deficit is to be cut there are two parts to the equation – cutting spending and raising taxes. They talk long and loud about the first. As for the second… I am tired of Republicans saying cutting taxes is critical without a discussion of the consequences. Only later do they squeal about the rising deficits that their cuts caused. Of course, those of us who are struggling over a personal budget would be glad to have a few more dollars in our pockets. Republicans know that and prey on that desire. I’m tired of them characterizing Democrats as “Tax and Spend” as if they just want to have as many dollars pass through their fingers as possible without regard to what those dollars do. I’m tired of this because I know Republicans are using the slogan so that the government is severely underfunded and unable to meet the needs of its citizens. That is why they rarely talk about what tax cuts will do to federal programs that provide assistance to those in need. They don’t want their constituents cared for. They want the vast gap between their rich lifestyle and the lifelong struggle of the poorest as a way to demonstrate how much better they and their donors are than those at the bottom of society. I’m tired of Democrats not being able to counter the Republican slogan. So I wrote this to call Republicans out. Feel free to use it to blunt their campaign. I don’t mind paying taxes because I feel I’m getting a lot of good stuff for my hard-earned money. Government does many things for me – more accurately, government could and should do a lot of good things for me. Whether it does that right now is another issue. My local school board, funded by property taxes and state payments, makes sure every child in the district is able to get a good education. Even though they are not my own children I benefit through citizens who are less likely to need assistance and can contribute to the modern workplace, a thriving culture, and a functioning democracy. Local taxes fund a local government that provides police, fire crews, and medical ambulances. Even if I don’t need those services (and I hope I never do) I benefit by knowing they can serve me when I do need them. I also benefit because they make the whole community safer and healthier. My local government provides resources for youth and seniors. It has a library. It maintains parks and provides recreation. It provides services to neighborhoods for improvement. It sends around trucks to collect trash, recyclables, and yard waste for composting so that don’t have to take trash to the landfill. It pays to maintain roads and allows anyone to drive on them without paying tolls. It maintains and updates a plan for the city to guide growth and keep business thriving. Some communities have a center where events for the community can be held (alas, mine does not). All of this keeps the community a pleasant place to live. All of it is better because it is not driven by the profit motive and because it is available to all, no matter their ability to pay. All of it benefits my quality of life for the better even if I use few of the available services. I’m skipping the state government and going to the federal because much of what a state government does is funded by the feds or operates under mandates from the feds or simply needs to do the same kinds of things the feds do. There are, of course, many states that defy the feds. And there are many states that offer programs and services that go beyond what the feds mandate. So here is a look at what the federal government does – or at least was designed to do even if that purpose has been thwarted by underfunding, bureaucratic rules, and politics. The various departments are listed in order of their creation. Their description is adapted from each department’s Wikipedia page. The Department of State coordinates foreign affairs and advises the president and Congress on foreign policy. I benefit because they work towards peace and for nations working towards common goals. Through their efforts my world and those I love are less likely to be lost to war. I am more able to travel the world safely. The Department of Treasury regulates and stabilizes the dollar. I’m less likely to be swindled out of my savings and more likely to see my savings last. Treasury’s largest department is the IRS, which investigates tax cheats, so less tax burden falls on me. The Department of Defense is our armed forces. They protect me from aggressive foreign countries. The Department of Interior maintains our federal lands and national parks. I have enjoyed the beauty of many national parks and I’m glad these lands are available to everyone with a modest entrance fee. We avoid corporate control that, if they got their hands on these scenic wonders, would overbuild, or completely despoil, or turn it into a place exclusive to rich people. The health of lands under federal control means my world is more healthy, a benefit to me. Interior also runs programs for Native American. Programs that make their lives better make the whole community stronger, which benefits me. The Department of Justice enforces the law and administers justice. It can prosecute corporations and people who subvert our national laws. It protects the little people from the big people. Or should. This section is hard to write because over the last six years it seems the DOJ has been acting like the Department of Inaction, even Department of Injustice by shielding those who want to destroy democracy. The Department of Agriculture supports farmers and food safety and thus my food. It supports our forests and keeps our source of wood and natural areas from being stripped bare. It also recommends sound nutrition (alas, with lobbyist influence). It also offers support to those who can’t afford enough to eat. The health of everyone in my community influence the vitality of my community. The Department of Commerce runs the Weather Service, so I, and even the poorest in my community, can get weather reports to help me plan my day and to warn of severe weather events. Commerce also runs the Census so district lines have a chance of being drawn fairly and resources can be allocated to areas of need. It also manages patents and trademarks and promotes economic growth and tech competitiveness. The Department of Labor improves working conditions and assures worker rights. It protects the worker against oppressive working conditions, taking the side of the little guy against the big guy. The Department of Health and Human Services monitors the health of the country, verifies drugs do what their makers claim they do and aren’t harmful – you did get your COVID vaccine? – and pays for health care for seniors, the poor and disabled, and for Native Americans. The Department of Housing and Urban Development works to build strong, sustainable, and inclusive housing, including preventing housing discrimination. The Department of Transportation makes sure the highways I drive are designed for safety, my car can keep me safe in a crash, my plane doesn’t fall out of the sky, my train doesn’t jump the tracks, and our pipelines don’t rupture (too often). The Department of Energy makes sure nuclear material is handled safely. It runs a system of national labs (one recently in the news for nuclear fusion). It promotes energy research and conservation. The Department of Veterans Affairs takes care of those who served our country. This department cares for their health, vocational rehab, education, and helps with home loans. Healthy veterans mean a healthy community. The Department of Homeland Security fights terrorism and promotes cybersecurity. It screens those entering the country and protects our borders. It includes FEMA to help recovery from disasters. This is another department with a glaring difference between what it should do and what it does. There are also various other federal agencies and positions that improve the quality of life – the Small Business Administration, Social Security, Environment Protection Agency, Ambassador to United Nations, National Endowment for the Humanities, Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and NASA. Finally, a Supreme Court that is able to tell the rest of government that the laws they passed violate the Constitution, the social compact that binds this nation together. Alas, this is another component of government that has been subverted from what it is supposed to do. All of these departments and agencies either directly make my life better or they make my community better though residents who are thriving instead of struggling. That makes my life better too. All that makes my tax dollars a pretty good deal. I’ll be clear. Helping those at the bottom of the social hierarchy makes my life better. We’re all in this together. Republicans and their donors believe they are better off when those at the bottom of society are worse off. They believe that inequality shows how much better they are than everyone else. They believe their personal value is measured in the size of that difference. So enough about cutting taxes as a worthy goal on its own. Enough about a smaller government would make my life better. A frequent conservative complaint is Democrats want to keep the poor dependent on the government, depriving them of personal initiative. Yes, many federal (and state) programs can be redesigned so that they don’t lock a person in. One way to do this is to avoid programs with a hard cutoff – if a person’s income is above a certain level they’re out of the program. That’s an incentive for people to stay just below the cutoff income. Better to design a program so its benefits phase out so a person is ahead as their income rises. I said I do mind paying taxes into a rigged system. So I’ll examine that now. A rigged system is one in which my tax dollars don’t help me or those worse off than me or help the country as a whole, but instead go into the pockets of those who can’t possibly ever spend all the money they already have. The biggest reason for why our system is rigged is that we as a country have allowed a way for rich people to buy Congress, buy the president, and control the Supreme Court. Back in December Thom Hartmann of our community wrote a post describing how in 1971 Lewis Powell and his Memorandum called for corporations to have as much political influence as the lefty types he saw controlling the government. That led to Powell being given a seat on the Supreme Court to weaken campaign donation rules and to Reagan’s huge tax cuts that led to individuals and corporations having enough money to donate huge amounts to political campaigns and think tanks to control our government at the state and federal levels. Because of that corruption through money and because of many long-term injustices there are many ways in which our nation and society is rigged. Here are some of them. The rich pay less in taxes. Part of that is because their usual method of income – capital gains – is taxed at a lower rate than the income of working people. Another part is the top tax rates are lower than they should be. Yet another part is the continuing underfunding of the IRS that didn’t have the manpower to track down how the rich are cheating on their taxes. The rich funded think tanks to vet judges and justices who will think as they do. They captured the Supreme Court, cutting of the most important way for the little man, the common worker to get relief from the big man. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse has spoken about 80 Supreme Court cases in the last few years with an identifiable Republican donor interest. The donors won all 80. The cases were about dark political money, working to make a civil jury powerless, weaken regulatory agencies, and weaken minority voting. In controlling our government the rich make sure there is no action on critical goals that have the approval of a high percentage of citizens. These goals include addressing climate change and environmental pollution and damage and reducing gun violence (one thinks they want us dead!). The rich make sure their bought politicians stay in power through gerrymandering and voter suppression, claiming voter fraud while they and their politicians commit election fraud. Because our political leadership has been bought the Department of Justice has not acted against the insurrectionist leadership. Congressional leadership did not act and insurrectionists were seated in Congress. Now in every election cycle politicians, sometimes entire political parties, feel they can cry fraud when the vote doesn’t go their way. And insurrectionists are now in key leadership positions. Racism that has persisted since Europeans came to these lands has meant schools in poor (read: Black) districts are perpetually underfunded and potential homeowners in these neighborhoods are denied mortgages. Racism continues to mean Black people get long sentences for minor crimes while rich white men who commit major crimes are given lenient sentences. State legislatures have been steadily decreasing the money they give to colleges and universities at a time the federal government increased the availability of student loans. That has trapped a couple generations of students in unending debt, unable to afford to move on to the next stages in life. Some potential students see the looming debt and don’t try. Universities are corrupted by large gifts from rich donors that require teaching subjects in a way that is acceptable to the donors. Many times research paid for by the federal government is turned over to corporations for their exclusive profit. Monopolies have captured many sectors of the economy. This includes meat processing, airlines, office supplies, drug stores, farm equipment, and health insurance – a small sampling of the many sectors of the economy controlled by monopolies. The government did little when the monopolies formed (they don’t “just happen”) and are doing little to break them up. Monopolies mean higher prices for consumers and lower prices for producers. Daily Kos member stargaze recently wrote of several other ways billionaires warp and corrupt American and world life. I agree billionaires should be illegal. I’m sure there are a lot more examples of how the federal and state governments have been rigged to favor the rich. The federal government was designed to keep the various parts of the country humming along and to help the common person and protect them from the rich who want to oppress them. Many parts of the government still carry out their intended function. For this my taxes are a worthwhile investment. But too much of the government – especially Congress, likely the president, definitely the Supreme Court – have been corrupted by money offered by the rich. My tax dollars no longer go towards fairness, building the community, and helping everyone to thrive. Instead, my tax dollars fund ways to make the rich richer and everyone else more oppressed. Don’t cut taxes, cut the ways government is rigged. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/1/25/2149270/-I-don-t-mind-paying-taxes-I-do-mind-paying-into-a-rigged-government Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/