Debunking a stupid right-wing email - Democratic Underground

Seneca

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Tue Sep-23-03 05:14 PM
Original message

Debunking a stupid right-wing email

Stupid... right-wing... pardon my redundancy. Damn, I hate those things, and I have a friend who sends them to her "All" list, so I get the fun of rebutting these things.

Here goes:

Read all the way through....
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Accounts Receivable Tax
Building Permit Tax
Capital Gains Tax
CDL license Tax
Cigarette Tax
Corporate Income Tax
Court Fines (indirect taxes)
Dog License Tax
Federal Income Tax
Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA)
Fishing License Tax
Food License Tax
Fuel permit tax
Gasoline Tax (42 cents per gallon)
Hunting License Tax
Inheritance Tax Interest expense (tax on the money)
Inventory Tax IRS Interest Charges (tax on top of tax)
IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax)
Liquor Tax
Local Income Tax
Luxury Taxes
Medicare Tax
Septic Permit Tax
Service Charge Taxes
Social Security Tax
Sales Taxes
Recreational Vehicle Tax
School Tax
State Income Tax
State Unemployment Tax (SUTA)
Telephone Federal Excise Tax
Telephone Federal Universal Service Fee Tax
Telephone Federal, State and Local Surcharge Taxes
Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge Tax
Telephone Recurring and Non-Recurring Charges Tax
Telephone State and Local Tax
Telephone Usage Charge Tax
Traffic Fines (indirect taxation)
Trailer Registration Tax
Utility Taxes
Vehicle License Registration Tax
Vehicle Sales Tax
Watercraft Registration Tax
Well Permit Tax
Workers Compensation Tax

COMMENTS: Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago
and our nation was the most prosperous in the world,
had absolutely no national debt, had the largest
middle class in the world and Mom stayed home to raise
the kids.

What the Hell happened??

MY REPLY:

Lots of falsehoods here... for example, the national debt was only paid off once, when Andrew Jackson was president in the 1830's. The current debt has been accruing since then. One Reagan plus two Bushes equals 7 trillion. We actually started paying DOWN the damn thing from 1993-2000. Oops. Your great-grandkids will still be paying the interest when they borrow money to buy a shack in 2083.

There were also prohibitively high tarriffs back then - the hot-button issue of the day, and lots of obsolete taxes not listed here.

In 1903, there were no child labor or minimum wage laws to protect workers, and I really bristle at the "mom stayed home to watch the kids" latent sexism - barefoot and pregnant anyone? PLUS, the BUSINESS CLIMATE these days makes a two-income home practically necessary for anyone who wants to breed. Why do conservatives long for the days of mom-getting-knocked-up, yet underpay their workers and run offshore accounts to enrich themselves while fucking over the workers??? They MAKE the two-income family necessary. Can't have it both ways!

Oh, let's see... gasoline taxes vary from state to state, so I question the 42 cents, which is probably the highest end. Far better to question why OIL COMPANIES are gouging us at $2.00 a gallon when the cost of a barrel is the lowest in years. Hm?

Nothing wrong with traffic fines - roads need to be paid for, and why not accrue the revenue from lawbreakers? Liquor and alcohol taxes are voluntary - no one makes you endanger your health.

Life was HELL in 1903, so I question why anyone would pine for the bad ol' days, and hey, if it weren't for FUTA and a few others, just think how many people would have been driven homeless in the past 2 years, so hurray for liberalism and the safety net! I might also add, that the telephone taxes WERE paid mostly by the telephone companies until Republican asswipes deregulated the telecommunications industry in the 90's and those greedheads passed them on to US, the consumer. As for the traffic ones, there were FEW cars in 1903, and no interstates and such. But you can bet the early roads in the US were tolled to death, and still are. So much for that theory of being new.

I think there are good and bad taxes, fair and unfair ones. But to make a blanket indictment of them? Bad logic and questionable ideology. I say we could eliminate most of the federal ones if we trimmed the Pentagon a bit more. Even in this age of Fear and Terror, the military is the biggest pork-barrel program of them all, and the civilian defense contractors are paid for with MY TAX SUBSIDIZING! I don't like welfare mothers either - CORPORATE WELFARE mothers, that is. Free market, my ass! *rolls eyes*

And just one more thing, the United States was NOT the "most prosperous country on Earth" in 1903.

I really loathe these kinds of emails - they perpetuate ignorance and aid in the blindness of the average American of their history. I bet Snopes will be debunking this one soon. But it is more fun when I do it.

Thanks for playing! ;-)