Saturday, April 28, 2012

Double Tap

Have you seen the movie Zombieland?  It's a horror comedy about four people fighting to survive a plague of zombies that's infecting the land. The protagonist of the film is a college student named Columbus, played by the adorable Jesse Eisenberg.  Columbus has created many rules to help him survive in this post-apocalyptic, zombie infested America.  One of his rules is that when killing zombies always do a "double tap", that is hit or shoot zombies in the head twice to make sure they're dead.  The double tap is a good rule for offing the walking dead but it's a terrible and terribly unfair rule for collecting taxes, but it's a rule our friendly federal government is inflicting on certain citizens of our (once?) great Republic.  And just who are the targets of the income tax double tap?  The eeeeeevil rich.

Rich Americans endure a federal double tap on their income.  You'd never know this from the shrill class warfare rhetoric pouring from Obama and company, but it's true.  The dastardly "rich", those Americans making over $200,000 a year, pay a 33%-35%  federal income tax rate on their earned income.  If they invest some of their earned income and make a profit, that investment income, aka capital gains, is taxed at a rate as high as 25%, depending on what the investment is.  So, the income rich people earn from their jobs--yes, most rich people work--is taxed.  Then any profit made from investing that already taxed earned income is also taxed.  Can you say, "Double tap!".  I knew you could.

So now you know.  The eeeeevil, blood sucking rich not only pay their fair share in federal income taxes, they pay twice.  But we 99 per centers shouldn't gloat.  The government, certainly not the federal government, shouldn't be taking anyone's money.  It's ours.  We earned it by the sweat of our brow.  The income tax, however, effectively abrogates our ownership of the fruits of our labor.  It transfers that ownership to the government and makes us wards of the state, living on however much of our labor the state decides we deserve.  And most of us meekly submit to this statist thievery, even arguing about how to make it "fairer".  That's like arguing how to make muggings fairer. 

The income tax must be abolished.  No one's income, however substantial, should be confiscated by Uncle Sam.  It's ours. We earned it.  It belongs to us. 

Tapping is for zombies.

Sunday, April 15, 2012

The Myth Of Income Inequality

There's a myth stalking America. It's the myth of income inequality, and it's dangerous. This myth is being used by progressives to divide Americans, stoke the fires of envy and class warfare, and promote anti-liberty, socialistic policies totally contrary to the principles of our Founding Fathers.

It's time to debunk this myth.

There is no income inequality in America. How can I say that, some might ask, in light of the blatant fact that Americans earn differing sums of money? I don't deny income differences. Of course they exist, and that's ok. It's ok for people to earn different levels of income. What's not ok is labeling those income differences an "inequality".

It's not an inequity for one person to make more money than another. Saying that it is implies that differing income levels are the result of some deliberate institutional injustice which government must intervene to correct. Wrong. Disparities in income result primarily from the choices of individuals, that is, from freedom.

People are different. They have different personalities, abilities, values, goals, and life experiences. Consequently, people make vastly divergent life decisions. These decisions then impact the financial success, or lack there of, people will have in their lives. A college graduate will be richer than a high school graduate who, in turn, will be richer than a high school dropout. And that's as it should be. Freedom, and the life choices it allows individuals to make, matters. Progressive believers in the income inequality myth hate that.

Progressives' concept of "social justice" rejects equality of opportunity in favor of equality of outcome. For now, the progressive utopians can't engineer society so that everyone earns the same amount of money regardless of their job. Instead, they seek to impose economic "equality" through wealth redistribution, i.e., government taking from the "rich" and distributing the booty to the "poor" via government programs. It's pretty obvious how the myth of income inequality facilitates the progressives' redistribution scheme. Arguing for economic and individual freedom over redistribution can be denounced as "anti-equality". By lambasting "income inequality", progressives can claim the moral high ground while pursuing a policy that will bankrupt the nation.

Income inequality is an ideologically motivated hoax. It doesn't exist. What exists in American society are income differences determined by the life choices of individuals, choices made possible by the blessing of freedom. I want to keep that freedom, even if it means I don't earn as much money as Bill Gates. Freedom means much more to me than money, which is why I totally reject the myth of income inequality. How about you?

Monday, April 09, 2012

"Not Ashamed"

Here's a poem/song I wrote today while at work. Actually, this little song has been percolating in my head for several months but it all came together today at work. The song is about a traditionalist--yours truly--confronting secular progressives, aka liberals, about what I believe. The tune for "Not Ashamed" is based on the music to the song "Still the Same" by the erstwhile, white nationalist duo, Prussian Blue. Yes, Prussian Blue. And yes, I sometimes listen to white power rock, even though I'm black. But so what? I listen to the far-left rock band Rage Against the Machine, even though I'm a proud right-winger. What can I say? I'm eclectic that way. Anyway, hope you like my song.

Not Ashamed
by Seane-Anna

Why do you say that
I must be ashamed of
who I am?

What have I done to you?

And why do you say that
I can't take pride
in my name?

Isn't that just what you do?

Well I now proclaim
that I'm not ashamed!
I won't play your game.
I carry high the flame!

Why do you laugh at
and trash all the things
that I believe?

Why are you so afraid?

And why do you battle
so hard against the Truth
that I receive?

What's the source of all your hate?

Well, I still proclaim
that I'm not ashamed!
I won't play your game.
I carry high the flame!

You ask me why I reject your beliefs?
It's not complicated.
I put them to the test and in the end
I found them overrated.
Your contradictions, faithlessness, and self-hatred
got me jaded.

I once was tempted to compromise
but now I can see right through your lies.
Your empty ideas just can't hold sway,
and I've got just one more thing to say
and that's

I now proclaim
that I'm not ashamed!
I won't play your game.
I carry high the flame!

I now proclaim
that I'm not ashamed!
I won't play your game.
I carry high the flame!

Sunday, April 08, 2012

Happy Easter

Happy Easter, friends! Hope it was wonderful for all of you!