For one thing we are not physically responsible. We are running the country like an irresponsible kid with a credit card that is running up a lot of debt that he cannot pay. We have too many people in the country with too much money that they are making at the expense of the general public and too many rich people in Washington making the laws to benefit themselves and their rich friends that are furnishing them the money to buy themselves into office.
If we were to increase the income tax on private individuals that make over $200,000 a year from 1% for every $100,000 after the first $250,000 up to 90% we could balance the budget, pay all government expenses, take care of our social security obligations and have universal health care and have money to give back to the states to build roads, hospitals, schools and anything else that would benefit the general public.
Don't fall for the gimmick of eliminating the IRS and having a national flat sales tax of 20%. That would give the multi millionaires even more benefits than they are getting now. For example someone that is working for a living wage would have to spend all his money to make a living, so he would pay taxes on all his income while the guy who is making 100 million would probably only spend one million on taxable expense so he would be paying taxes on only 1% of his income.
At the above suggested tax rate a person making 15 million a year would have approximately 7 million left after taxes. He could spend one million and still have 6 million left to save or do with whatever he desired. That should be enough for anybody and the country and everybody would benefit because the grant money would create more jobs so more people would be paying taxes.
My Opinion by John Zilverberg
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John, I couldn't see any other way to get a message to you. I hope your readers enjoy this.
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Note from Newland: This message went out to supporters of South Dakotans for Safe Access and the Safe Access Act of 2009 the day after Christmas. I am sending it simultaneously to several South Dakota blog moderators. The principle topic I thought might interest you was the exchange between Kevin Woster and the Attorney General.
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Hello everyone,
I hope you all had good holiday celebrations. And even better day-after sale-shopping.
The immediately-following deals with medical cannabis only peripherally. It would not have happened without the current SDSA campaign to get the issue of medical cannabis into the legislative session beginning in January. It also shows that no matter what we do, our opponents will say that what we really want is to give heroin to babies, or some such.
For a couple of years now, Kevin Woster, a writer for the Rapid City (SD) Journal, and one of the moderators for the Mt Blogmore political blog (a Journal property), has periodically, if rather timidly, questioned the efficacy of the War on (Some) Drugs, and has written columns for the Journal in which he has told of people he knows who have used cannabis to fight the effects of illnesses and their treatments.
On Dec. 2, he made the following post to Mt. Blogmore...
Please, somebody explain how we’re winning the war on drugs
By Kevin Woster
I come to this discussion as one who does not smoke pot.
I don’t want to smoke pot. I don’t intend to smoke pot.
Whether it’s legal or not.
I’ve smoked it, three or four times, way back when. Got no desire to smoke it again. (Yes, Newland, I might change my mind if I had a medical condition it made better.)
Mostly, I think pot does more harm than good. But mostly, I also think alcohol does more harm than good. All told, I think we’d be better off if more people smoked pot and fewer people drank alcohol. But I think we’d be a lot better off if more people didn’t do much of either.
I have no desire to “feel better,” as Newland puts it. I like feeling the way I feel.
But that’s just me. I don’t care if somebody else smokes it, as long as they don’t do something while feeling its effects - such as driving a car, most likely well under the speed limit, and threatening my safety.
But I think your average stoned motorist would probably be less of a threat than your average distracted - by cell-phone chatter and even, amazingly enough, texting - motorist.
Or your average fixing-her-lipstick motorist. Or your average reading-his-newspaper motorist. Or your average yelling-at-the-kids-in-the-backseat motorist.
Or the average charged-up-on-caffeine-and-nicotine motorist.
And as one who has spent a good share of time - sober, or straight - with friends and acquaintances who were either drunk or stoned, I’ll tell you I’ll take stoned every time. No contest.
Beyond all that, how does it benefit anyone in South Dakota to bust those goofy “mules” from the West Coast driving across South Dakota to deliver a load of pot someplace else? Most appear to be poor, and desperate for dollars.
Why should we celebrate throwing them in prison for many years, especially when state taxpayers pay for their keep?
Isn’t it counterproductive to clog our courts and criminal system for pot offenses?
Isn’t it a waste of resources? Does it have any real effect on how many people smoke pot?
Are we winning “the war on drugs”? If so, please tell me how?
(See the comments on this blog post)
http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/politicalblog/?p=2940#comments
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After the posting above, Woster was speaking with the Attorney General of So. Dak. The result of that conversation was the Woster column below.
If there's not a graphic file of a newspaper column directly below, you can read the column at the following website...
http://www.sodaknorml.org/Press2008/WosLong.htm#081221col
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One might read into Larry Long's words an element of attempted intimidation. I certainly read into Woster's words an element of "How stupid can an attorney general be and still make it to work nearly daily?" It could be be I'm just projecting.
We can see that the AG can at least read the Drug Czar's primer. Or has had someone read it to him. "We're keeping lots of people off drugs because they're illegal," he said. Who, for instance? Name one. You, Mr. AG? Or your predecessor? Or his predecessor? I don't think so. (Understand, I am 60 years old, and I used to hang out in crowds these folks hung out in.)
I think you should send Kevin Woster an "Attaboy!"
Kevin.Woster@lee.net
Let him know his words are appreciated. Be sure you let him know what you're praising him for.
Incidentally, I've been invited to talk about the proposed South Dakota Safe Access Act of 2009 on So. Dak. Public Radio on Tuesday, Jan. 6 at 11 am Mountain Time. Also on the air and online that day, opposing me, I assume, will be Larry Long, So. Dak.'s Attorney General, or, at least, someone from his office. You can listen live on So. Dak. Public Radio almost anywhere in So. Dak. on the FM dial, or online at
http://www.sdpb.org/radio/index.asp
You might recall that SDSA asked for the Attorney General's assistance in drafting legislation that would protect patients from arrest for trying to alleviate their own suffering. We sent that letter on Dec. 9. We're still waiting for his reply.
There might be archived shows at sdpb.org, as well, in case you can't listen live.
Less than three weeks until the legislative session begins. If you have not called your legislators, DO IT THIS WEEK!!! Review the procedure and how to find who your legislators are at
http://www.sodaknorml.org/sdsa_files/campaign/eblasts.htm#081213
That page also contains a lot more info, if you're just starting to get these messages.
Check out our 4x5 inch handout cards. If you want some, let me know, and I'll mail them to you.
http://www.sodaknorml.org/sdsa_files/tools.htm
Please. If you know someone who needs medical cannabis, ask him or her to contact me. Our list of horror stories and government cruelty to extremely sick people is growing. newland@rapidcity.com
Always put SDSA in the subject line, so I can find it in my spam filter. My Spam filter will send back a challenge message to addresses it doesn't recognize, too, and you can write in some numbers from an image, and get yourself cleared thru the filter. The most effective way to move a legislator in our direction is to arrange an interview between a legislator and a medical cannabis criminal from his community. Most legislators will agree to confidentiality. I think they can be trusted to keep their word.
I'll have more news and views for you in a day or two.
Best regards,
Bob Newland
http://www.SoDakSafeAccess.net/
P.S. If you see anything SDSA might be able to do -- to raise the general level of consciousness on this issue -- on a real low budget, let us know. If it's a DYNAMITE idea that costs some money, we might be able to raise some money to do it.
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