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Wikipedia:FairTax

Taxation has always been an issue with Americans. We boycotted British tea because of taxes. We desired taxation with representation. The only problem now that we have representation is the high level of confusion over the tax code and its unfairness between differing income levels. The FairTax plan would essentially do away with federal income tax, the IRS, social security and Medicare taxes, corporate taxes, capital gains taxes, gift taxes and inheritance taxes. They would be replaced with a national retail sales tax to be levied once at the point of purchase on new goods and services. Used goods would not incur the tax. The proposal also calls for a monthly tax rebate to households of citizens and legal resident aliens to “untax” purchases up to the poverty level. “The sales tax rate would be 23% of the total register price.” The FairTax would not change government funded programs such as social security, Medicare and Medicaid. The FairTax is even expected to decrease production costs after business taxes and compliance costs are removed. This is predicted to offset a portion of the FairTax amount.

I think this a great way to end unfairness in the tax system, do away with complicated filing procedures and promote our economy based upon consumer spending. Think of how wonderful it would be to just inherit money or win one million dollars and get to keep it all! The rich will continue to buy high priced luxury goods and in turn will finally be contributing their share.It will become more difficult to get away with not paying your taxes since every good you purchase will be contributing to your share of tax. Do you agree with or support this reform? If so, comment on it. At the bottom of this blog is a website where you can sign a petition in support of this. I highly doubt many politicians will support this plan, so it is up to us, the people to vote the supporters of this tax proposal into political office. This may be the first election most of you will be eligible to vote in. I hope you all registered and go out to make a difference.

Go here to take action:

Sign the petition in favor of it

LINK

Humans are stripping nature at an unprecedented rate and will need two planets’ worth of natural resources every year by 2050 on current trends, the WWF conservation group said on Tuesday. The article stated populations of many species, from fish to mammals, had fallen by about a third from 1970 to 2003 largely because of human threats such as pollution, clearing of forests and overfishing, the group also said in a two-yearly report “For more than 20 years we have exceeded the earth’s ability to support a consumptive lifestyle that is unsustainable and we cannot afford to continue down this path,” WWF Director-General James Leape said, launching the WWF’s 2006 Living Planet Report.”If everyone around the world lived as those in America, we would need five planets to support us,” Leape, an American, said in Beijing. People in the United Arab Emirates were placing most stress per capita on the planet ahead of those in the United States, Finland and Canada, the report said.

This article disturbed me a lot. To think in as little as forty-four years we could require another planet’s worth of natural resources. We can already see “water wars” occurring. Places that have water and dame up rivers are causing shortages downriver. The United States is doing this to Mexico, Middle Eastern countries have had this problem even longer and China’s rivers are becoming so polluted that it may soon need to seek out fresh water supplies. Just remember the United States has the great lakes which hold 20% of the world’s freshwater supply. That excludes the melting glaciers. I heard the rainforest’s produce forty percent of the oxygen in the air. Yet, they are being burned and turned into temporary farmland at an exponential rate. Climate patterns are changing and rainfall is moving to different areas. People don’t want to be aware of what is happening. They think it will all go away. What we have done in past couple centuries will take an extremely long time to be reversed if it even can. I despise America for their wasteful lifestyle. Having the biggest house, biggest vehicle and biggest waistline seem so important to American’s. In some European countries it is shameful to show wealth. When you consider how much living space you actually use and how many of you actually have a need for a truck or SUV. You can’t hide behind the I need all-wheel drive cause of the climate. Subaru and other automakers make all-wheel drive sedans! If you need space, instead of getting an SUV get a hatchback or wagon. Start recycling your trash and be conscientious of the water, food, fuel and other things you use. Remember, everyone shares the resources of the earth. When they run out, we don’t have anymore. Forget any idea you have about going into space for resources because I highly doubt that will ever happen.

“Without extraordinary determination and the great assistance of others–at home and at school–there is little chance for success.”

-Richard Rodriguez

    I feel this quote best describes the need for others. Without friends, family and teachers, their is little chance for success. Our relationships help determine who we are. They shape and mold us into the people we become. In “The Achievement of Desire,” the point Richard seemed to make is that you need human relationships in your life. As much as you try to push away your parents, without them you probably wouldn’t be where you are today. He explains to us how much he his parents cared about their children. They sacrificed to give their kids what they never had. Richard tells us of his obsession to become educated. Even if it meant he didn’t really care about what he was learning. He didn’t seem to appreciate his family until he got older.

    I had a hard time understanding Richard, since I abhor reading anything I’m not extremely interested in. I remember in second grade, I had to see the school psychiatrist because my teacher thought I had a learning problem. I got the card and ink blot tests. I passed them and confused the hell out of the teacher and psychiatrist. They couldn’t understand why a child would refuse to read. It amazed my parents that I would fail a spelling test on purpose during third grade then next week, get a ten out of ten. I would do this to play with teachers minds. I loved to make them think I studied and improved myself. The difference between me and Ricard is that I spent my time playing with my friends. I built strong relationships, but they always seemed to be broken by my own lack of determination to keep them together. I let my friends move away and I never called them like they asked me. So, I would say the quote is true in the sense you need both strong relationships and determination to be a success.

Link

Air samples gathered last week contain radioactive materials that confirm that North Korea conducted an underground nuclear explosion. Negroponte’s office also confirmed that the size of the explosion was less than 1 kiloton, a comparatively small nuclear detonation. Each kiloton is equal to the force produced by 1,000 tons of TNT. “Analysis of air samples collected on October 11, 2006, detected radioactive debris which confirms that North Korea conducted an underground nuclear explosion in the vicinity of P’unggye onOctober 9, 2006,” the statement said.

This worries me a lot to think North Korea would be willing to detonate nuclear weapons. I don’t think they realize how dangerous the radiation produced from the detonation is. The initial blast is nothing compared to radioactive material produced. What’s worse is that the material can travel in the air and contaminate other countries. I think it’s in China’sbest interest to agree with the U.N. on punishing North Korea. Their actions are not appropriate fora nation today. I truly hope we can prevent nations from seeking nuclear weapons. I believe nations see these weapons as a form of power but they fail to realize that nuclear weapons have not been used against another nation since WWII. Their is a reason for that. They are extremely dangerous for everyone.Nuclear fallout caused so many deaths in Japan back then and even today it is hard for the descendants of people exposed to the blast to find love. Fear that they may pass on damaged genetics as a result of nuclear exposure. I wish we could create a weapon that deradiate nuclear material. I don’t believe any such thing exists. The power struggle can cause nations to act without thinking of the repercussions of their actions. A lot of nations feel the United States tries to prevent them from gaining nuclear power because they would become a challenge. While this may be true, I doubt that is the reason. Being the only nation to attack another nation with nuclear weapons, we understand what can happen. I hope the U.N. can solve this crisis before it blows up their face.

    My favorite commercial that was not ridiculously funny was for Honda Motors. It involves a series of parts all laying around with one gear that starts moving. It reminds me of cartoons were someone would buy a complicated machine. The commercial goes into every detail and part of the car which work together perfectly. Honda is my favorite automaker because they have a reputation for environmentally friendly, fuel efficient and slightly sporty vehicles with good reliability. I find that concentrating on one aspect of a vehicle causes problems. GM focused too much on performance and that may have contributed to their decline. Whenever a gas crisis hits, you want to be ready as an automaker with a variety of vehicles that will achieve good mileage. I find that perfection is having a little bit of everything. That is the reason I love Honda’s. They have everything you could ask for. They have even added a truck, although I don’t find a truck would ever be necessary for anyone. I hate trucks, suvs and minivans even though I wanted an suv at one point. The reason I dislike them is because under our current laws being considered a light truck lets them get away from the strict emission requirements that are imposed on cars. I love Subaru’s too, but the fact they reclassified their outback to light truck status so they would not have to meet the fuel efficiency standards of cars sickens me. Light trucks are completely classified as a different species of vehicle. Our government lets them get away with so much. I wish an independent would win the 2008 election. I’m sick of both political parties.

Link

    A small plane that was carrying the New York Yankee pitcher Cory Lidle slammed into a 50-story skyscraper. Which, apparently killed him and a second person. It also raised fears of another terrorist attack on this shaken city. Lidle was an avid pilot who got his license off season last year. The single engine aircraft issued a distress signal before plowing into the 30th and 31st floors of the high-rise on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. Lidle’s passport was found on the street, according to a federal official.”This is a terrible and shocking tragedy that has stunned the entire
Yankees organization,” Yankees owner George Steinbrenner said in a
statement. He offered his condolences to Lidle’s wife, Melanie, and
6-year-old son. It’s sad such an event has taken place. You take many risks in your lifetime. You do activities that you enjoy and you know the risks involved. I truly wish this did not happen because it has just created another widow and fatherless child like Irwin’s death did. The weather in New York can be tough at times. Fog can be common and visibility impaired. If I was a resident of NYC and I saw this take place, I would of assumed we were under attack by terrorists. I’m superstitious and I believe you should not jump to assumptions by saying that will never happen. They said the Titanic would never sink and Lidle said he wasn’t worried about flying. Anything can happen and every morning you wake up, could be your last. We try not to think like that and so we go about our daily lives. I always try to sugar coat events like this or find a bright side. Their really is nothing good I can find here. I wish their was someway to safe-proof buildings from airplanes. My goal is to change the world and make it an ever better place. That’s what people have been trying to achieve since the beginning. We have succeeded somewhat, but greed and desire have clouded the minds of many politicians. You have to truly care about other people to be a reformer.

    “The holidays are part and parcel of the gross fraud, wrong, and inhumanity of slavery. They are professedly a custom established by the benevolence of the slaveholders; but I undertake to say, it is the result of selfishness, and one of the grossest frauds committed upon the down-trodden slave….”

-Frederick Douglass

    In the quote, Frederick Douglass tells us how slaveholders would use the holidays as a means to scare slaves away from their own freedom. Making them drunk to feel as if slavery would prevent them from being slaves to rum. This quote best illustrates what slaveholders went through to keep their slaves. In reality, slaveholders feared that the slaves might try to become free. Slaves outnumbered slaveholders and if they banded together, could most likely win their freedom. Slaveholders had to come up with tactics to use to keep slaves from desiring freedom.  Slaveholders relied on their slaves for their own existence. In order to plant, grow and collect the crops to sell to make the slaveholders rich. Without slaves, that system falls apart because paying people to do that type of work would be very unprofitable. The advent of machinery was a blessing to many farmers, I’m sure. I don’t like to think people would knowingly harm other people. It sickens me to no end and reading each of these pieces makes it worse. I hope we move on to a better topic soon. I understand the importance of remembering history but its getting crazy nowadays. African American history month was created to let people remember slavery and what African Americans have contributed to our society. It seems wrong for me to see an Hispanic Heritage month now, which a copy of African American history month. Why not just throw in Asian and Caucasian history months in too? Why must we declare months to every single ethnic group now? Again, I think this country is ridiculous.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061005/ap_on_fe_st/language_police

    Malaysia will levy fines on those who incorrectly use the national
language, and will set up a specialized division to weed out offenders
who mix Malay with English, news reports said Thursday.Culture, Arts and Heritage Minister Rais Yatim said fines of up to
1,000 ringgit ($271) can be imposed on anyone who displays wrong or
mutated form of Malay, the Star newspaper reported. Fines will be imposed after a first warning, the national news agency Bernama quoted Rais as saying. Most Malaysians speak Malay, also known as Bahasa Malaysia, while
English is widely spoken but a mutated form, known as “Manglish” — a
mishmash of English, Malay and other local dialects is commonly used in
the Southeast Asian nation. Critics of the decision to sideline English in favor of Malay is hurting its global competitiveness level.
 Wow, just think if the United States imposed this. The government would be rich and we’d have alto of unhappy people. Being a nation of immigrants we have every kind of English mix possible. I feel this decision was wrong because it symbolizes isolationism. If people want to speak a certain language and they are in the process of learning, you can’t punish them for it. Every Malaysian will have to go through a transition period if they even want to learn English. My grandmother still speaks part French and part English all the time when she doesn’t understand something in English. English and Spanish are languages that are spreading rapidly across different parts of the world. It is common that people would start mixing it. It never ceases to amaze me on how governments handle things. Greed and control are always factors in government. What do you think about this decision? Come on I want comments!

“But one thing I learned early on was that people are judged
by their use language—that how they spoke could define them as trailer-park
trash or it could define them as being potentially suitable for admittance to
the country club.”

I chose this quote because I think
it reflects an important issue in our society. Judging people by how they
speak, their racial backgrounds, sexual preferences etc. is wrong. Yet, we do
it every single day without realizing it. An example of something you might not
be thinking of would be a driver going thirty mph on a forty-five. You may jump
to conclusions like they must be old. We have traits we associate with
different socioeconomic status, race and sexuality. If they talk in improper
English, they must be trailer trash or black. A big black man walking down the
street with chains all over his body, he might rob me because he looks poor.
That guy has a rainbow colored umbrella, he must be gay. We all jump to
conclusions before we know the facts. We do this because we have already
decided things in our minds. Life is not set in stone. You can’t set yourself
up to believe every situation will be the same because they act the same.
Learning to judge people for who they are not what you think they are. Old
habits die hard and I doubt people will ever stop judging each other. Their is
hope for the future, as people like Megan Foss reveal that there is more behind
a person than how they speak, act or look like.