Hi Folks,

First my apologies for carpet-bombing everyone with my personal
issues, but I can't get this out of my head.

In a moment of alleged national crsis, and when everyone seems to be
standing up to salute the merits of bipartisanship, the house has
passed a bill along strict party lines that is dubbed an "economic
stimulus package." The point is apparently to provide some sort of
hedge against a dropping economy, which is alleged to have dropped
further after the events in New York and Virginia after September 11.
This despite the fact that our "president" campaigned on the falling
sky of a dropping economy while (one must assume) having the full
understanding that in doing so he would be glibly shoving it down
further, and despite his fellow party member John McCain's
declaration in his campaign for President a full understanding that
the perception of the economy is one of the most critical aspects of
it's health.

So here we are: under attack for virtually the first time in modern
history, donating right and left to help our fellow citizens out with
cash and blood, and the goverment focuses as it has for 20 years on
our role not as citizens but as consumers and essentially asks us to
support with our taxes a transfer of funds to America's largest and
wealthiest corporations in the name of stimulating a supposedly
moribund economy. I don't get. I don't get it in a number of ways.

First, broadly, is this capitalism or isn't it? If a small business
fails, we let if it fail (sometimes in the name of defending large
corporations we even force them to fail by including them in trade
wars that are fought for, e.g. Chiquita). If some people are poor
here, we let them be poor. We are built on social darwinism, with a
tiny smattering of socialism thrown in for good PR, and this
government intends to remove what vestiges of that remain in the
federal structure and parcel it out to "faith-based" organizations.
But, in a very communistic sort of approach, we are now to let these
huge concerns declare their profits off-shore and pay no taxes, all
the while subsidizing this from our own pockets. Huh? And we are
supposed to rebate them the taxes they have paid since that loophole
was closed 15 years ago? My money and yours straight from our pockets
into IBM and GM's accounts. So for us, it's socialism. We are
supporting these companies as we did in the Chrylser bail-out, the
S&L scandal, and as we do regularly in trade wars fought in the name
of mismanaged companies who come crying via their lobbyists to the
White House and Congress. And yet, they are not nationalized despite
what the cash transfer would suggest. They get to rise and rise based
on a pure capitalistic approach, retaining all profits, with us as a
safety net. Makes you wonder. Or at least, it makes me wonder.

And then secondly and more to the point, that this is happening now
when we are told we are in a national state of crisis: is there or is
there not a crisis? Is a time of crisis the time to engage in such
blatant manipulation and profiteering? How stupid am I supposed to be?

My reaction to it all is this: this year, 2001, I paid more taxes
than I ever have. In 2002 it's likely I'll pay even more. One can
argue this either way, but essentially it's our civic obligation to
do this. What I'm wondering about is: why is it my obligation to pay
into the common coffer for our common good, when our elected
representatives hand it out in such a blatantly biased and un-civic
way? If it's about economic stimulus, how about I just keep the money
with a good-faith promise to spend it like a good consumer should,
and spend it my own way? Instead of paying taxes in April, I could
completely solarize my electricity and do some really serious work on
the house that would keep money rolling through a number of companies
and keep craftsmen employed. And I'll sign a notarized affadavit
guaranteeing I'll do it. Wouldn't that be just as effective for the
economy as my contributing to the over $1 Billion slated for IBM and
the nearly $1 Billion slated for GE?

SO: and at last! I'm emailing everbody looking for an organization
anywhere in the US that focuses on this issue. If this bill passes
the Senate, I think it's time for me to declare myself a tax rebel
until "our" government gets it's shit straight. Because one thing
this whole thing makes clear: in a time of national crsis, this is
not a government for the people, of the people and by the pople. And
it doesn't know how to deal with what's important or how to set
priorites. And it only responds to money. So maybe let's not give it
any.

And please feel free to ruin someone's day by forwarding this.

Regards and with hope,

Dan Schwartz
--
 nothing is real...