As I suggested, financial success is not the only road to personal
satisfaction.
At least I think I'm right, never having been rich. In fact, I quit calling
myself Middle Class many years ago. I feel that it is a snobbish term used
by "Professional White Collar" Working Class people attempting to distance
themselves from the rest of Labor. To my way of thinking, the workers who
built the office buildings on Wall Street are every bit as critical to our
nations prosperity as are those who occupy the financial offices that came
to be housed in them.
I am the son and grandson and great grandson of Working Class People. They
were farmers, miners, loggers and a preacher or two...and probably at least
one horse thief.
The thrill I receive in this trip of mine through Life, is not tied to
financial advancement. Sure, I enjoy a home, good food, a warm hearth, and
a sense of basic security. Out here on the wild Olympic Peninsula it also
helps to have dependable transportation.
But my joy and satisfaction are not tied up in a pleasure boat, or
membership in the various clubs and fraternal organizations that so many
seek after.
A pair of jeans, a warm shirt and a sturdy pair of walking shoes make me
feel dressed to the nines. The services we offer, and the numbers of people
we have seen benefit from them, that is where my satisfaction lays...or does
my satisfaction lie?
Anyway, all this is by no means a slam against those whose satisfaction is
tied up in their ability to gain material stuff. Nor do I judge the folks
who take vows of poverty and spend their lives in serving their God.
Because it is what each of us does which brings meaning to our lives and
gives us that sense of satisfaction when we have reached our roads end.
Carl Jarvis
----- Original Message -----
From: "J.Rayl" <thedogmom6363@frontier.com>
To: "Acb List" <acb-l@acb.org>
Sent: Saturday, May 11, 2013 3:18 PM
Subject: Re: [acb-l] Fw: keeping it blindness centered: Sarah
Palin:"Thisisn'tlegit"
Hi. Well, that is good to know --about my posts. I was beginning to wonder
if Fronter and the government were in cahoots ...or something. Hahahaha!
Yeah well, I suppose if one can afford to pay it (taxes) then they should,
but our 1 percent of the fortunate devels need to step up to the plate.
Then the other 20 percent (or whatever the discrepancy is now) of those a
damn site wealthier than I am (because I selected the wrong field for sure
need to step up to their plates as well. After that, they can pick on those
of us who are busting our proverbial and real butts trying to stay
affloat--let's just forget trying to get ahead now because that's a real sad
laugh --it isn't happening.
Not in this day and age anyway.
Jessie Rayl
thedogmom63@frontier.com
www.facebook.com/Eaglewings10
www.pathtogrowth.org
----- Original Message -----
From: Carl Jarvis
To: J.Rayl ; Acb List
Sent: Saturday, May 11, 2013 1:02 PM
Subject: Re: [acb-l] Fw: keeping it blindness centered: Sarah Palin:
"Thisisn'tlegit"
Well Jessie, this came through loud and clear.
By the way, I personally don't go with the flat tax, but that was Ron's
opinion in the piece of his note that I quoted.
We both agree that the present tax mess is a...well, a mess.
A graduated income tax, both federal and state, would probably cost me
more dollars than it would cost you. And it would appear to cost Ron even
more than it would cost me. But I might consider supporting the flat tax if
everyone, corporate muckity muck included, were paying the tax on their
actual income.
But I don't really want to get into debating which is the better tax, flat
or graduated, because that gets us away from the question regarding how we
blind people gain a real voice in our government.
Carl Jarvis
----- Original Message -----
From: J.Rayl
To: Acb List
Sent: Saturday, May 11, 2013 9:12 AM
Subject: [acb-l] Fw: keeping it blindness centered: Sarah Palin:
"Thisisn'tlegit"
GRRR, put the wrong email on the first one ...let's try it again. Poor
bob!
Hi. Carl, well-said.
I have missed much of this thread, I suspect, but got this one and am
happy to have received it.
I suspect, even if ever there were a time that we got around to having a
flat tax, it would be one of these things well above the reasonable ability
of those in the lower class (and I hate that phrase too) could truly afford.
I say that because the mental health / substance abuse facilities have, what
they refer to, as a sliding fee scale. This is based on your, alleged,
income.
Well, they begin with something you're expected to pay even though you
earn little or nothing. Now, how can you pay anything when you have no
income?
Then, they keep right on raising it up from there. And of course people
who are single end up paying more, because they never get around to asking
for evidence of full income.
For example! my two sisters have kids. When their kids were around 16
to 18--still living at home, they worked. But those kids' incomes were
never counted as "income". Why? Because they were, legally, "dependent
children" because their "income" was not enough. Well! each of those "kids"
from two of those sisters made more money than those of you do on SSI.
But there you'd have been, if you did not have Medicaid, and if your
income had solely been based on your SSI (or equivalent) paying more than
either of those sisters for the services you would have received (as a
single person). Never mind their "kids" were earning more money than were
you!
So, you see, even though I used to be all gungho for the flat tax based
on income, people have ways of getting around that one too. <sigh>!
I still think there should be some nice way of our being able to select
where our taxes would go. For damn sure, they'd find out what is, and
isn't, important to folks--and, they just might be real shocked at what is
and what ain't. Maybe that is the fear--or part of it. <sigh>!
Hmmm, I think playing out in the mud was more enjoyable, but am done
there so I'll go clean the house.
At least I got this post ...now, let's see if you all do, for whatever
its worth. <LOL>!
Jessie Rayl
thedogmom63@frontier.com
www.facebook.com/Eaglewings10
www.pathtogrowth.org
----- Original Message -----
From: Carl Jarvis
To: ACB-L@ACB.ORG ; Ronald E. Milliman
Sent: Saturday, May 11, 2013 11:46 AM
Subject: [acb-l] keeping it blindness centered: Sarah Palin: "This
isn'tlegit"
Hi Ron and All ACB Members who would Support a Major Change in Our Tax
Structure.
Well Ron, you certainly are not wasting my time in stating your
thoughts. This is what the ACB list is here for...I hope.
How we are taxed and who benefits by the existing tax nightmare,
national, state and local, is important to all blind people.
You hit the nail on the head when you said, "What we severely need in
this country will never happen; that is, totally
scrap the current tax program and go to a very simple tax system; that
is,
eliminate the, so called, loop holes and simply pay a flat tax that
applies
equally to everyone. It will never happen because the current,
extremely
complicated tax code, has been created on purpose to be able to slip
in
special tax favors for various special interests, and supports of our
elected officials who are supposed to be representing us, but they
don't..."
Because the majority of our ACB members find ourselves in the lower
end of the Working/Middle Class, or are retired on fixed, and limited
income, we are not able to take advantage of the "favors" that the
corporations and the super rich are able to do.
In fact, the taxation mess we live under puts the average blind person
at a severe disadvantage. The current proposed bill just passed by the
Senate is an example of the damage that could be done to the blind people
struggling in home based industries that depend on mail orders to eek out a
living.
And just to digress, as a small business, not only are we paying an
equivalent sales tax on items purchased out of state, but our shipping
charges continue to rise, even though our contract funding remains the same.
While little ACB is not going to pick up our slingshot and slay the
mighty Goliath, we do need to keep open conversation on what we can do to
move toward a more equitable system.
Why are we paying the taxes we now pay? Who is benefitting from our
money? Why do we not have more say in what is being taken and where it is
going?
I expect that you and others on this list are as careful with your
money as Cathy and I are with ours. We spend each dollar at least three
times before actually letting it go. And yet, our taxes are deducted
without our having any say in how much or where they go.
Whether folks in your income, or mine, or in the growing slums, we are
all of us held captive to a system that needs to be changed.
And not just so we can be financially successful. Of course all of us
want to be "better off", but there is much more to being successful than
just how many dollars we can command.
Carl Jarvis
----- Original Message -----
From: Ronald E. Milliman
To: ACB-L@ACB.ORG
Sent: Friday, May 10, 2013 10:27 AM
Subject: Re: [acb-l] FW: Sarah Palin: "This isn't legit"
I acknowledge that I am probably wasting my time here in an attempt
to
presenting a different point of view, but I'm going to state my
differing
viewpoint anyway.
Before I do, I want to let you know that the statement made in an
earlier
post stating: "small businesses, under a million dollars in revenue,
.,
will be exempt." This is in reference to the internet sales tax bill
that
was passed by the Senate. This is not true; I just got off the phone
with
one of my senator's assistants, and she told me the final bill did
not
include any such income cutoff.
Now, to my other points. The vast majority of taxes paid in this
country
are paid by the higher income earners, not necessarily rich,
depending upon
on what you define as rich. I have numerous friends that earn high
incomes,
and they pay an enormous amount in taxes of all kinds, including
sales
taxes. They tend to purchase more expensive items from vehicles to
boats to
houses, and they tend to eat in relatively expensive restaurants.
They pay
state sales taxes and property taxes on everything they buy. I have
a
friend who recently purchased a houseboat for $427,500, and he paid
6%
state sales tax of $25,650. Then, in addition, he has to pay a
registration
and license fee and each year the registration and license fees are
recurring taxes. One of the vehicles he drives is a Cadillac
Escalade that
he paid something over $62,000 for; plus and another over $3,700 in
sales
taxes. He and I were discussing, actually complaining, about our
income
taxes; he paid something over $35,000 in Federal and state income
taxes.
When we compared our property tax bills, he paid nearly $7,000 in
property
tax on his home, and I could go on and on. These figures are net
after any
exemptions or what many of you refer to as "loop holes" in the tax
code. He
is not an especially unique example. I could give you lots and lots
of
other examples of people I know who are paying thousands and
thousands of
dollars in various taxes. The richest person I, personally, know
quite
well, pays an enormous amount in all kinds of taxes. Of course, he
takes
advantage of as many legal exemptions as he can, and of course, he
invests
his money as wisely as he can to minimize his tax liability, but
then, so
do I and so do you if you in a similar income situation and if you
aren't,
you would if you were in such a situation. If you didn't, you
wouldn't be
handling your finances prudently.
In contrast, I know many of my friends that are not working or are
low
income earners, including many of my very good blind friends, and
they
don't pay any income taxes at all, and some of them actually get
back
several thousands of dollars through the "Earned Income Credit"
program,
and several receive food stamps and other types of financial
assistance.
So, the various high income earners in this country are paying their
fare
share. That buzz phrase: "make the rich pay their fare share" is
simply
that: a political buzz phrase that has been sold to the American
public for
purely political purposes to further a political agenda.
Could the higher income earners in this country pay more than they
do? Of
course, they could. I could pay more. Some of you could probably pay
more
too, but we can only redistribute so much income and tax the higher
income
earners so much before it completely destroys the incentive to
achieve and
to be financially successful.
What we severely need in this country will never happen; that is,
totally
scrap the current tax program and go to a very simple tax system;
that is,
eliminate the, so called, loop holes and simply pay a flat tax that
applies
equally to everyone. It will never happen because the current,
extremely
complicated tax code, has been created on purpose to be able to slip
in
special tax favors for various special interests, and supports of
our
elected officials who are supposed to be representing us, but they
don't
represent us anymore, and I'm not sure if they ever did. These
special
favors built into the tax code work for all of our politicians,
regardless
of which party to which they belong. In addition, the current
complicated
tax code has created entire industries and professions, e.g. tax
attorneys,
tax accountants, tax preparers, tax advisors, tax exempt mutual
funds, and
yes, the entire massive IRS.
Presented in the spirit of good debate,
Ron M.
Dr. Ronald E. Milliman, retired Professor Western Kentucky
University
Ph: 270-782-9325
Email: rmilliman@insightbb.com
Chair, American Council of the Blind Public Relations Committee
Chair, American Council of the Blind's Monthly Monetary Support
Program
(MMS) Committee
President: South Central Kentucky Council of the Blind (SCKCB)
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