It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.....

[AnneD]

I had been in a good frame of mind at the start of the week.

We had our annual AFT Christmas party and we were in a good mood. What you say-teachers some where in this country, in a good mood. We had a run off election for a school board seat. First the board wanted to appoint someone of their chosing to the suddenly vacated seat. One of our state senators from that area pointed out that this move was illegal. Well, they called in the big guns, got endorsements, outside money from the big business education reformers. All we had was a superior candidate (valedictorian from a great local high school, magna cum laude from Rice, law degree from UT), our union brothers and sisters that let us use their hall and helped us get out the vote, a coalition of hispanic parents that helped us canvas, and a cadre of determined teachers. We won by 44 votes. I was so happy that our hard work paid off. We were finally experiencing real progress at making schools a better place for all children and teachers. We were keeping business from taking away resources from the kids and the schools.

On the national level, I had great hopes for this week and the tax bill. But as parts of the bill became known, I began to have a gnawing feeling in the pit of my stomach. It was the same feeling I got when they first passed the tax act, when they passed the Patriot Act, when they created Homeland Security, when they passed TARP, HCR, and now this current tax act. Like the first tax act, this represents a fundemental shift. Again money will be further concentrated in the hands of the wealthy, but the real Trojan Horse is the tax holiday. It will indeed open the Social Security fund-diverting money from the source. We have shifted from taxing gains to taxing wages.

I am not opposed to helping small business out, but this bill does not help them to the extent that large companies are helped. Also, this help will come at the direct cost to the public. As far as the tax breaks, the further down the income ladder you are, the more you pay proportionate to your income. I think this is what disturbed me the most. It just goes against every fiber in my being as a human and a Democrat. And the fact that the people I voted for passed this POS, did not make me feel better. They got me worked up thinking we could vote for a change, and we could have the hope of passing on a better future to our children. Well that hope has been dashed. Ginning it up, quoting Reagan, and guilting me into it by holding the unemployed hostage doesn't change the fact that the middle class has again been bufued with out the courtsey of some vasoline.

When we declared war in Iraq, I took my service photo off the wall, when we passed the Patriot Act, I took my framed copy of the Declaration of Independence off the wall, when they did away with Habeus Corpus I took down my copy of the Bill of Rights. When they pass the Tax bill this week-I went to the pub and drank a toast to the end of this great experiment called America.

[xchrom]

1. recommend

[stray cat]

2. such is life and politics - no different than its ever been

[DemReadingDU]

3. +++

[jwirr]

4. The last paragraph says it all. Thank you.