I suggested that there should be little (to no) taxes.
You responded:
How does any of this function
without taxation…?
I would like to know your thinking on this…
it doesn’t seem to be working now
and sure doesn’t favor poor to middle class…
but I think this is too long to write?
I respond:
There are a few ways one can look upon it. Here are two of the shorter versions —
1) Evolution
In the beginning there was Adam and Lilith. There were no taxes. For more generations than I can count, the world got along fine without taxes. In fact, humans prospered in the Garden Of Edan without taxation until we evolved into corrupt beings.
2) Exploitation And Corruption
An economic evaluation of taxation reveals a costs and benefits shutout. That is to say, there are no known benefits to taxation. On the other hand, there are at least a trillion costs to taxing (see the National Deficit for a an exhaustive list.) A small sampling includes…
The cost of taxing productive people
The cost of corruption inherent in collecting money
The cost of additional bureaucracy
The cost of removing the efficiency inherent in the competition of the free market place
You may want to think of it this way… every adult in the USA owes about $42,614.99 just for the Iraq War. (And, that is if we pay off the debt today. Oh, yeah. The cost of life and limb is not included.)
Next time, in order to be fair to everyone… maybe we should be required to pay the tax in advance… instead of 1% of the population footing 40% of the bill?
Do you know why Christians do not like the abbreviation of xmas for Christmas?
It is because the x is short for the cross, and Christmas is not suppose to be about Easter. That is to say, it is offensive to mock the birth with the symbol of his murder.
Suggestion: test your minister, pastor and/or reverend on Christmas Day… ask him/her their position on the use of X-mas.
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Philadelphia, PA
by Daniel Brouse
Are there any parallels between the creation of Pennsylvania, the American Revolutionary War and the Occupy Wall Street Movement? Yes. It is quite interesting how the Quakers have been involved in all three movements.
As a Quaker in England, William Penn had been arrested six times for speaking out. In 1681, William requested a charter to start an American Colony for a “Holy Experiment”. In honor of William’s father, the King granted the land known as the Forests of Penn — Pennsylvania.
“William Penn was the first great hero of American liberty. During the late seventeenth century, when Protestants persecuted Catholics, Catholics persecuted Protestants, and both persecuted Quakers and Jews, Penn established an American sanctuary which protected freedom of conscience. Almost everywhere else, colonists stole land from the Indians, but Penn traveled unarmed among the Indians and negotiated peaceful purchases. He insisted that women deserved equal rights with men. He gave Pennsylvania a written constitution which limited the power of government, provided a humane penal code, and guaranteed many fundamental liberties.” — The Quakers’ The Freeman
The Quakers also played an important role in the Revolutionary War.
Among the pro-Revolutionary Friends was a group of 200 Free Quakers, who claimed to be “free of the ecclesiastical tyranny of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting,” the governing body of Pennsylvania Quakerdom. The Free Quakers charged the yearly meeting with abandoning the liberty of conscience – the cornerstone of William Penn’s “Holy Experiment” in government and his motive for resettling Europe’s religiously-persecuted peoples in his American colony – and elevating pacifism, a secondary testimony, as the defining principle of Quakerism and a prerequisite for membership in the Society of Friends.
The Quakers of Plymouth Meeting in old Philadelphia County, now Montgomery County, were careful to abide by the discipline of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting and thus tried to avoid any involvement with either army during the Revolutionary War. Their meetinghouse, however, was strategically located along Germantown Pike between Philadelphia and Gen. George Washington’s headquarters at Whitemarsh. During the early winter of 1777, when Washington decided to relocate his forces at Valley Forge, the Plymouth Friends’ meetinghouse served as a hospital and campsite for the Continental Army en route to their winter encampment near the Chester County village. — State Of Pennsylvania Historical Markers
Principles
Occupy Philadelphia has founding principles similar to William Penn’s stand on Freedom Of Speech, and his commitment to non-violence. To date, dozens of Occupy protesters have been arrested for speaking out during peaceful demonstrations.
Location
The Friends Meeting House at 15th and Cherry Streets finds itself in a strategic location for the Occupy Philadelphia movement. Due to the proximity of the the Friends Center to the Occupy encampment at Dilworth Plaza, City Hall, Philadelphia, the Friends furnished facilities to cook 1500 meals per day, provide medical treatment and hold meetings. After the forcible eviction of the non-violent protesters from Dilworth Plaza, the Friends continue to offer their hospitality.
City Hall, Philadelphia, PA
November 15, 2011
by Daniel Brouse
It was almost like being served your last meal at Occupy Philadelphia today. Ben Cohen of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream brought free deserts for everyone at the encampment.
As Ben & Jerry’s gradually grew into a nationwide business and one of the largest ice cream companies in the USA, Cohen turned his new-found wealth and prominence toward a variety of social causes, generally through the Ben & Jerry’s Foundation. The Foundation receives 7.5% of all Ben & Jerry’s pre-tax profits and distributes funds to organizations such as the Anti Displacement Project. Cohen also oversees TrueMajority and Business Leaders for Sensible Priorities.
Cohen has been an active voice in favor of liberal causes. He supports small-scale farming, does not accept milk with rBGH or other implants, and has heavily criticized US budgetary priorities, pointing out that more money is spent on nuclear weapons than on children’s healthcare programs. He is also vocal in his support of Democratic candidates, including Dennis Kucinich for the U.S. Democratic presidential nomination in 2004 and John Edwards followed by Barack Obama in 2008. — Wikipedia
In the true spirit of his beliefs, he brought ice cream and scooped it hour after hour. Thanks, Ben!
Why? What would posses such a 1 percenter to do such act?
The Ben & Jerry’s press release:
To those who occupy: We stand with you
We, the Ben & Jerry’s Board of Directors, compelled by our personal convictions and our Company’s mission and values, wish to express our deepest admiration to all of you who have initiated the non-violent Occupy Wall Street Movement and to those around the country who have joined in solidarity. The issues raised are of fundamental importance to all of us. These include:
The inequity that exists between classes in our country is simply immoral.
We are in an unemployment crisis. Almost 14 million people are unemployed. Nearly 20% of African American men are unemployed. Over 25% of our nation’s youth are unemployed.
Many workers who have jobs have to work 2 or 3 of them just to scrape by.
Higher education is almost impossible to obtain without going deeply in debt.
Corporations are permitted to spend unlimited resources to influence elections while stockpiling a trillion dollars rather than hiring people.
We know the media will either ignore you or frame the issue as to who may be getting pepper sprayed rather than addressing the despair and hardships borne by so many, or accurately conveying what this movement is about. All this goes on while corporate profits continue to soar and millionaires whine about paying a bit more in taxes. And we have not even mentioned the environment.
We know that words are relatively easy but we wanted to act quickly to demonstrate our support. As a board and as a company we have actively been involved with these issues for years but your efforts have put them out front in a way we have not been able to do. We have provided support to citizens’ efforts to rein in corporate money in politics, we pay a livable wage to our employees, we directly support family farms and we are working to source fairly traded ingredients for all our products. But we realize that Occupy Wall Street is calling for systemic change. We support this call to action and are honored to join you in this call to take back our nation and democracy.
Does Ben & Jerry’s spend money on lobbying in the United States?
Ben & Jerry’s has launched numerous activist campaigns over the years that are considered lobbying activities according to federal and state laws.
In the past four years, the positions we have taken in these activist campaigns are:
Support for a Constitutional amendment that would limit corporate spending in elections.
Support for stronger social and environmental protections in the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement.
Support for the Youth PROMISE Act, which funds proven youth violence prevention programs.
Support for continued funding for the United States Institute of Peace.
Support for continued funding for the Complex Crises Fund which supports State Department emergency efforts to defuse volatile conflicts around the globe.
Support for aggressive federal legislation to limit and reduce carbon emissions to respond to the challenge of climate change.
Opposition to FDA approval of foods from cloned animals.
Support for a USDA program to require mandatory tracking of cloned animals in the food supply to support consumer choice.
Opposition to FDA approval of genetically engineered animals in the food supply.
Support for the right of dairy companies to label their products as being ‘rBGH-free.’
Support for the United Nations Millennium Development goals to eradicate extreme poverty and inequality.
Ben & Jerry’s has reported all expenditures on these grassroots campaign activities as required by federal and Vermont state law.
Over the past month, I have become embedded in the Occupy Philadelphia movement. Originally, I wrote an article entitled “Occupy Wallstreet? Occupy Yourself!” (www.widgette.com; October 7, 2011) From there, I traveled to Wall Street to encounter the protest in person. A few days later, I became actively involved at the Occupy Philly location at City Hall, Philadelphia.
Patty Hearst in a Symbionese Liberation Army publicity photo
When you become embedded in a story, much care must be taken to remain objective. One example would be Patricia Hearst and the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA). On February 4, 1974, 19-year-old Patty Hearst was kidnapped by a “urban guerrilla group” known as the Symbionese Liberation Army. The SLA wanted to swap jailed SLA members for Ms. Hearst. The attempt failed. On April 3, 1974, Patty announced she joined the SLA and assumed the name “Tania”. On On April 15, 1974, Patty was photographed carrying an M1 rifle as she robbed a bank in San Francisco. Since this time, she has become a well-known example of a victim of Stockholm Syndrome.
With this in mind, I attempted not to contribute to the gang mentality of the Occupy Movement.
On October 23, 2011, I was witness to the protest and eventual arrests of 15 Occupy Philly members. Deeming the spectacle as unethical behavior by the protesters, I refused to give the event any press coverage. Then, on November 7, 2011, I was covering the protest and arrests of protesters at the Comcast building. Again, feeling the protesters were not acting in the best interest of the movement, I reached out to offer positive press to the Mayor and the Police Department. I contacted the Philadelphia Police Department’s Public Affairs and Media Relations office, as well as, Mayor Nutter’s Press Department. My concerns over a non-confrontational move were voiced along with two requests to ensure a smooth transition. The Mayor’s office asked if I had a dead-line. I responded, “Prior to the expiration of the permit on November 15… or it will be too late.” Both offices promised me call-backs. The phone conversations were followed-up with the following letter:
To whom it may concern:
Pursuant to today’s telephone conversation, thank you for your assistance. As you suggested, I did contact the Mayor’s Press Department.
It is my desire to coordinate press in two ways:
1) Obtain any positive *copy* covering the Philadelphia Police Department and the Mayor’s office. Any statements, press releases or related materials that can be edited and/or redistributed to news organizations would be greatly appreciated. I am looking for any information that will help substantiate that the Philadelphia Police have been doing an excellent job at Occupy Philly, as well as, being civil and cordial.
2) An on-camera appearance by representatives from the Police Department or the Mayor’s Office. Besides praising the Departments on camera, I would like to review the *move plan* offered to Occupy Philly by the Mayor. If we could shoot on-location Thursday or Friday during a picture perfect day, I would like to meet.
Questions include:
* Where can Occupy Philly move? [The area will be filmed.]
* Will there be electric?
* Does Occupy Philly need any permits? Permits to move? Permits to play music? etc.
* Can the move start this weekend?
Thank you. I shall await your advice.
Since that time, I have not heard back from either the Mayor or the Police departments. Instead, Mayor Nutter held a press conference November 13 claiming there has been no communication on behalf of Occupy Philly. Now, the encampment has no alternative but to wait for a confrontation.
Press Conference at Occupy Philly
November 14, 2011
~ 1PM
by Daniel Brouse
CITY HALL, PHILADELPHIA, PA
On November 13, 2011, Philadelphia’s Mayor Nutter held a press conference changing his posture on the Occupy Philadelphia movement. During the show, he reversed his position on the protesters being allowed to obtain a new permit when the current permit expires on the 15th. Following is the response from the Occupy Philly Press Team:
