It isn't one recognizable to any of my friends.
When I ask them, "Will this tax rebate help you?" the answer is a resounding no.
Offering a tax rebate implies that paying taxes are the reason we're in a recession.
It is not the reason.
This article (a version was in The Roanoke Times today; this one is from MSNBC) notes that:
Rising food and fuel prices, falling interest rates and screeching declines in
worldwide stock markets have ... thousands of other retirees paring spending to
levels some haven't seen in decades, forgoing dinners out, cutting back on
groceries and canceling plans to visit grandchildren.
It isn't just retirees who are driving less, eating out less, and staying in more. It's practically everyone who makes less than $100,000 a year. And that is most people I know.
It is the economy, stupid. And the economy is in distress because of the focus on "letting the market rule," i.e., capitalism, and because of deregulation. Because we focus on businesses and money, not people.
It is uncapped rising costs of electricity, gasoline, milk, bread, hamburger, etc. that is the problem, combined with no increase in wages for the majority of people. And those wages that are adjusted are not keeping up with the rate of the rising costs.
It is the lack of unity among the workers and the inability of people to do anything more than think for themselves because they are so scared that they will lose what little bit they have.
When you start messing with the basics, you hurt people. People are hurting.
Our elected rulers are over their heads, every last one of them, from the federal government down. They are so out of touch with the America I live in, anyway, that they may as well live on Mars.
Locally, the General Assembly had a fracas and Salem's lead elected ruler made this comment:
Democrats "are leading us to unionization, strikes of public employees, abolishment of the right-to-work law and, ultimately, the demise of Virginia as one of the best states in the union in which to do business."
Having a great state "in which to do business" is all well and good, but frankly I would rather live in a great state - and a great nation - that is a good place for people to live.
Oh YES. Great post. We cannot maintain a nation on a house of cards economy, and I think most folks are really TIRED of hearing about the economy as if it is the reason we exist.
ReplyDeleteThere IS a simplicity movement happening, and I hope it will be a balm of salvation on our damaged environment and culture.