The Unfair Tax

originally published May 2, 2007

In the past few weeks, proponents of the badly misnamed FairTax have written in to the Athens Banner-Heraldand the Atlanta Journal-Constitution to support the legislation. I feel this method of taxation is bad policy on many different levels.

The FairTax calls for the elimination of corporate and personal income, estate, social security, excise and other taxes, and the replacement of these taxes with a 30 percent sales tax. It assumes prices will remain stable because the current embedded tax burden on each and every company is exactly 30 percent. Nothing could be further from the truth. While some companies are highly profitable and pay substantial amounts of corporate income tax, other companies such as Ford Motors and Delta Airlines are money losers. Some companies that lose money are able to “carryback” their losses to prior tax years and receive refunds of prior-year taxes. Refunding of prior income taxes can be an important source of cash flow for those companies. Can you imagine the impact on Ford and Delta of switching from an income-based system to a sales tax system?

Let’s examine the impact of the FairTax on newly unemployed automobile and airline workers. Even though these unemployed workers might have zero taxable income under the current system (if they are living by spending savings or borrowed money), the FairTax would add a tax burden to them. Likewise, the elderly, who are living by spending down their savings on which income taxes were paid previously, would again have a tax burden added to them. The rebate envisioned under the FairTax law only applies to the federal poverty level. Thus, the middle class and lower middle class with modest levels of savings would be hit hard. Also, affecting these income levels would be the elimination of the Earned Income Credit. This credit actually refunds more taxes to the working poor than they pay: in effect, a negative income tax. President Reagan hailed this provision as incentive to work rather than receive welfare. The FairTax would eliminate the Earned Income Credit, and replace it with a rebate up to the federal poverty level. The effect of this change would hurt the working poor.

The FairTax applies to new property, but not to used property. On the surface, this provision appears to be good. However, if used property is not taxed, my guess is that demand for it will increase greatly. Since the supply of used property will remain the same, any conservative economist will tell you that the price of it will rise sharply. This change will make used transportation and housing less affordable.

The FairTax calls for the elimination of the estate tax. This tax now applies to less than two percent of taxpayers. Since the FairTax purports to be revenue-neutral, it is clear that the tax burden will be shifted to lower levels of income and wealth. The repeal of the estate tax is opposed by Warren Buffet, William Gates, Sr. and others whose opinions are expressed at www.responsiblewealth.org.

In summary, by eliminating progressive tax rates, capital gains taxes, and the estate tax, and substituting a sales tax on food, housing rental and even health insurance premiums, the FairTax will cause a substantial shift in the current tax burden to those less able to pay. On this basis, I strongly oppose it.

Gary Causby

Athens

Our Senators

originally published May 2, 2007

As a newly inducted member of the senior citizens’ society, I find it most telling that both of our fine Republican senators representing the very fine people of the state of Georgia have chosen to sell us out to the big drug companies. They both voted No to S. 3, The Medicare Fair Prescription Drug Price Act of 2007. If passed, this legislation would have allowed Medicare to negotiate for lower drug prices.

Apparently, the patronage of the drug companies outweighs the interests of the citizens of our very fine state. Now, how will they explain their way out of this position they have taken against us, the people? They always seem to “slime” their way out of a direct answer to any question brought to their august attention.

By the way, many thanks to everyone who took action and helped move this legislation through Congress. Because of your help, this legislation gained the momentum to pass the House of Representatives and the Senate Finance Committee with bipartisan votes. Yet, our two fine senators voted to block the bill. (I’m scratching my head in amazement, but actually, we should have expected this from them. They do not have the interests of the people at heart; only those who will fill their coffers for the next election.)

Perhaps it is time for some new, young blood, who really take their oaths to heart. Representation is all we ask for, and it is our right as citizens.

Jerry Atkins

Athens

RE: Bush At VA Tech

originally published May 2, 2007

In response to the letter “Bush at VA Tech” by Charles Huff [Apr. 25]: You liberals are never happy. Had President Bush not appeared in person at the Virginia Tech convocation you would be complaining that he didn’t care enough to show up, that he must have had better things to do. Bush did not “act like he’s some kind of hero” or “like he’s done nothing wrong” in his address, as you argue. He was simply performing his duty as head of state which is to act on behalf of the nation in times of grief. One thing that I think people forget is that nothing can ever prepare you for the job you will have to do as president. I doubt any of us could have done better, and unfortunately, it does not look like the Democrats in Congress have any great plans for getting us out of the situation in Iraq.

Marija Bekafigo

Athens

Complaint

originally published May 2, 2007

The Classic Center needs money, but Widespread Panic shows are a foolish way to get it. Prior to arriving in Athens, I was lured to a “Rainbow Gathering,” like these “Deadhead,” “Rainbow Family, ” Spreadhead“ types frequent. I got lice, pinworms and Shigella dysentery from these sociopathic slobs, many of whom never bathe, and live in cars. (On trust fund money, as likely as not.) At the ER, the physician said it was a specific strain of Shigella known as the ” Rainbow Runs,“ peculiar to this group, and not found elsewhere on the planet! Topping that, Bubonic Plague (yes, the infamous Black Death) has even been found in this crowd!

It was foolish to use absorbent cloth on the Classic Center seats. (Instead of wipe-able vinyl.) It’s even ” foolisher“ to let those who despise all norms of civilized human behavior sit in them, endangering subsequent users. At the recent Robert Osborne Film Festival, my enjoyment of The Sound of Music was greatly diminished by the nauseating, reeking stench that I was sitting in. Today, I’m sure, it’s much, much worse!

I’m sure I’m not alone. Eventually, the loss of funds from those who don’t want their clothes (or car interiors) all stunk up with human (and animal) excrement, rotting bodily fluids, etc., will negate any monetary profit the Panic shows generate. Besides, it’s just plain nasty!

Suggestion: Thoroughly clean the Classic Center seats (or, better yet, re-upholster them with vinyl) and let all such future shows be held at the county fairgrounds, by the dump, where nobody minds, and the sun, wind and rain will sanitize things.

Gordon Lee Stelter

Athens

Politics Is Personal

originally published May 2, 2007

I’m a little bit frustrated with people who think political “bipartisanship” is something we should strive for and that politics should be kept separate from other concerns. First, I don’t think any such thing as neutrality exists, so I think aiming for it is futile; second, I think politics is what gives life meaning and purpose, rather than being a mere accessory to other concerns. And I don’t mean politics in the narrow sense of electoral politics in the United States, but rather politics in the wider sense implied in the statement “Everything is politics.” Politics then appears to mean a lot of different things, but I think its intention can be pared down to one simple phrase and that phrase is “getting what you want.” Now you’re probably thinking I’m one of those horrible persons who professes a morality of ends rather than means. And, to be frank, that is what I’m saying, but let me add the caveat that no coherent political philosophy can function otherwise. Even “means” philosophies are really about “ends;” means actually are ends and the very moment we started pretending there was a difference, politics became a game of smoke and mirrors. But I’m getting sidetracked.

Many people respond to the statement “Everything is politics and politics is about getting what you want” as if it’s deeply cynical and probably extremely selfish, too. But I think our automatically negative reactions to phrases like the above is in no small part a conditioned response. We act as if people ever function differently, and we often forget the wide variety of things people can desire.

For example, I have a progressive vision for the future of this country. I want a diverse and responsible culture in which evolution occurs freely; a political environment in which ideas that foment the aforementioned flourish, while reactionary, conservative ideas die out; and a drastic and immediate reduction in carbon emissions (to name a few). These are the driving forces behind my political perspective (in the civic sense, that is).

If you examine your own political opinions, I suspect that you’ll find desires as well as all of the messy principle/ substance motivations that support what can appear to be glossy and impartial procedural positions. There’s nothing wrong with this and it certainly doesn’t devalue the opinions themselves. In fact, these foundations humanize politics (for my argument is such that purely procedural politics do not, in fact, exist) and the immediately apparent relativism of my claims should be easily made irrelevant (pun intended) by the (obvious) realization that opposing opinions do not “cancel out” your own by the mere fact of their existence. Politics is never so simple, and it is always personal.

Michael Uhall

Athens