Alas, it's true! I still love her all the same though.
After posting the
Nation article and comment on Wednesday, my sister vehemently pushed back... The following is my response:
Thanks for the thoughtful comment, sis!
Interesting first question… to my very imprecise, clumsy
statement…
Honestly, I’d rather not think Left/Right – it’s too
divisive – Divide and Conquer merely serves Plutocrats, allowing them to loot
and plunder while the Red and Blue are so busy beating each other black and
blue, we don’t notice.
In other words, if the 99% of us (which mathematically
speaking includes the 26% of Americans that identify as Republican, the 29%
that are Democrats, and the 42% that are Independent, according to a recent
Gallup Poll) stopped bickering and worked together, we could make some progress
in this country.
For example, have you ever seen these data from the OECD?
Health care spending,
per person, 2011:
United States: $8508
Canada: $4522
Germany: $4495
France: $4118
Australia: $3800
United Kingdom: $3405
Japan: $3213
Spain: $3072
Italy: $3012
We’re getting fleeced! Privatized medicine is a racket!
Both Left and Right should be up in arms about that!
Why don’t we save money and socialize medicine like most of
the industrialized world?
You’re correct “socialism is not how this country was
founded,” but do you really want to get into our nation’s brutal racial history
with regard to Africans and Native Americans that were killed, forcibly taken
from their land, and/or enslaved to work for free for others’ profit?
Yes, “hard working Americans should be rewarded for their
efforts,” (and I am, thank you), but does that negate their responsibility to
their country and community?
Could Jeff have started and run a successful business in
Afghanistan or Iraq?
Haven’t taxes allowed him to have the infrastructure
necessary to have a thriving small business and hire employees from an educated
work force?
You may be right about small business taxes being too high,
but despite that, don't you think both Jeff and my uncle have made a pretty good go of it here in one of the most sought after areas in the world to live, beautiful
Southern California?
Side note, I take it you will be voting for Prop. 64, which
would legalize weed for recreational use? (We voted for medicinal use 20 years
ago, in 1996.) If not, couldn’t
small business people (like your cousin Nick) benefit from lifting this
pointless prohibition?
The weed-conomy in Cali could be the next Gold Rush!
And sorry, can’t give big business a pass. Seems to me that some of our biggest
banks get to privatize their profits and socialize their losses. Talk about disincentivizing honest,
ethical, hard work.
So maybe we do agree on welfare – we shouldn’t be giving it
to our biggest companies.
But I’m curious how “taxation and government regulations…
de-motivate very hard working and talented Americans” like Jeff…
What about the hard-working single mother of a child in my
class that works two jobs just to pay her bills? She’s the one that qualifies for “freebies” like free lunch
for her child because her money goes to rent of her small apartment, money for
the Laundromat, and the bus fare to get to her jobs.
Thank goodness for the patriotic, taxpaying Americans who pay
for her child and many more like hers to have a free public education like you
and I got.
Speaking of public education, did you have Mr. McGuire for
American Government at Kennedy?
Reading your comments reminded me of his old axiom about politics: “Where a person stands depends on where
he sits.”
From where I’m sitting, economic issues are only one part of
the national discussion.
And when I see where someone like my student’s mom sits, I
feel extremely lucky.
I’ve never had to worry about socioeconomic, racial, sexual,
or gender issues.
