Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Huntsman for President? Who's Left?

I was just reading today how Jon Huntsman's new jobs proposal (as well as most other Republican tax reform proposals) suggests, in the name of those mysterious "job creators," to eliminate all taxes on long-term capital gains (more than one year) and dividend income.

So here is the unspoken underlying context: If you have $1 million in investments or more (or even less), it is incredibly easy to set up a fairly-low-risk portfolio that delivers virtually ALL income in the form of long-term capital gains and dividends.

In addition, if you are an upper-level manager in most businesses, your employer will likely gladly set you up (especially if this passes) to receive most of your income in the form of deferrals and stock that pays out in the form of capital gains (many bonuses are already set up this way). You only need one-years' worth of cash to get you through to the point where most of THIS year's income is from capital gains from LAST year, and thus tax-free.

Let this sink in a minute: If you have reached the bottom tier of "wealthy," you can set yourself up so that you will, from this point onward, pay zero dollars in income taxes on the great majority of your income.

Will the voters see through this scam?

Also, get ready for another round of McCarthyism. Mitt Romney, Michele Bachmann, and Rick Santorum have all signed a pledge to form a commission to investigate the LGBT community if elected President.

This pledge was created by the National Organization For Marriage, and they have a history of extreme views against homosexuals and anyone who votes to extend marriage rights to them.

The pledge reads as follows.

I, [candidate name], pledge to the American people that if elected President, I will:

[...] establish a presidential commission on religious liberty to investigate and document reports of Americans who have been harassed or threatened for exercising key civil rights to organize, to speak, to donate or to vote for marriage and to propose new protections, if needed.

In other words, the extreme right wing is going to persecute homosexuals on a whole new level if they have power after the 2012 Election. Homosexuals and supporters of marriage equality will be intimidated, interrogated, and stripped of their right to speak freely.

The religious right wing has been allowed to push their un-American and unconstitutional agenda for far too long. Americans must push back. If we continue to do nothing, we could all be persecuted by this fanatical group.

First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out --
Because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out --
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out --
Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me -- and there was no one left to speak for me.

2 comments:

marlu said...

Great post, Margie. Glad to see there are a few voices who see the weirdness in the right wing fanatics.

Margie's Musings said...

True..how true. Thanks for reading my thoughts here.