...Bush will not be our President.
:)
Showing posts with label government. Show all posts
Showing posts with label government. Show all posts
Monday, January 19, 2009
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Regarding my sister's second query...
Dana Gioia, chairman for the National Endowment for the Arts, was on my local NPR station, WNYC, today. I thought the interview by Brian Lehrer was pretty interesting. You can find the interview halfway down this page and listen to it online.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Response to my sister's first query
OK, so I put out a challenge to my multitude of readers (and myself) a couple weeks ago. I promised that I would write a post on any topic that was proposed through a reader comment to my June 8, 2008 post.
Sooo....I actually received some comments, and now I've got some writing to do. Two Sarahs, one of whom is my sister, provided me with writing fodder. Sister Sarah went a bit overboard and gave me THREE topics to write about (thank you, dear sister). I am now going to attempt to respond to her first request. Here is her question:
1. Are you concerned that Barack Obama will destroy any motivation to work and succeed through his oppressive tax plan and desired expansion of entitlement programs? Why or why not?
A note: my sister and I are indeed the best of friends, but we have very different political beliefs. Luckily, we both enjoy a good spar once in a while...
Allow me to pick apart your question, dearest sister, as you chose some loaded vocabulary words (destroy, oppressive). I can guess where you stand on Barack Obama's fiscal plan.
What part of Obama'a tax plan are you referring to? I hardly find it oppressive to reverse the tax cuts that Bush gave to the wealthiest Americans.
And the expansion of entitlement programs? Are you referring to his desire to increase access to jobs and transportation in low-income urban centers? His desire to provide incentives to minority- and women-owned businesses, as well as small start-ups?
My answer to your question: NO. I don't think that approaching our nation as a humanistic and compassionate community "destroys" people's desire to "work and succeed."
Yes, I think that people should enjoy the rewards of their hard labor, and I believe in personal responsibility for the course of one's life. But I also think that Americans are born into all different kinds of circumstances, and that offering some government assistance to people in depressed circumstances can create a sense of hope that could be the needed impetus to pull oneself out of said depressed circumstances.
I could elaborate further, but I have three more pending topics to write about. I am not, however, against revisiting this topic in the future...
Sooo....I actually received some comments, and now I've got some writing to do. Two Sarahs, one of whom is my sister, provided me with writing fodder. Sister Sarah went a bit overboard and gave me THREE topics to write about (thank you, dear sister). I am now going to attempt to respond to her first request. Here is her question:
1. Are you concerned that Barack Obama will destroy any motivation to work and succeed through his oppressive tax plan and desired expansion of entitlement programs? Why or why not?
A note: my sister and I are indeed the best of friends, but we have very different political beliefs. Luckily, we both enjoy a good spar once in a while...
Allow me to pick apart your question, dearest sister, as you chose some loaded vocabulary words (destroy, oppressive). I can guess where you stand on Barack Obama's fiscal plan.
What part of Obama'a tax plan are you referring to? I hardly find it oppressive to reverse the tax cuts that Bush gave to the wealthiest Americans.
And the expansion of entitlement programs? Are you referring to his desire to increase access to jobs and transportation in low-income urban centers? His desire to provide incentives to minority- and women-owned businesses, as well as small start-ups?
My answer to your question: NO. I don't think that approaching our nation as a humanistic and compassionate community "destroys" people's desire to "work and succeed."
Yes, I think that people should enjoy the rewards of their hard labor, and I believe in personal responsibility for the course of one's life. But I also think that Americans are born into all different kinds of circumstances, and that offering some government assistance to people in depressed circumstances can create a sense of hope that could be the needed impetus to pull oneself out of said depressed circumstances.
I could elaborate further, but I have three more pending topics to write about. I am not, however, against revisiting this topic in the future...
Monday, March 3, 2008
The most wonderful time of the year
I finally buckled down and filled out my tax forms tonight. It wasn't too bad...I found the various cross-referenced forms to be a bit annoying, but I was still able to handle it myself without professional help. Had a W-2 and a couple 1099s to deal with this year, as well as my pretty little student loan interest deduction...
So I finished up the federal forms a little while ago. To set a productive scene for myself, I popped the LL Cool J All World CD into my laptop (classics!), and took out my contacts (somehow, being bent over tax forms in the middle of the night looks better to me with glasses resting on the bridge of my nose).
I held my breath as I reached the end of my 1040...I was at the line that reads TOTAL TAX, and I was looking for Box 2 ("Federal income tax withheld") on my solitary 2007 W-2...please, I thought, please let that amount in Box 2 be larger than my TOTAL TAX owed for 2007...
A smile crept upon my face:
I was completely thrilled to find out that, despite a couple worrisome components of my income, I am still due to receive a little refund from the Feds this year. Thank the lordy...I'm getting that form in ASAP now...it always takes Uncle Sam so much more time to issue checks than to cash them, in my experience...
Emboldened, I decided to try to wipe out my New York State tax forms tonight as well. What could possibly follow Cool James in my CD rotation? I chose Fugees The Score CD...it doesn't really compare, but it does have nice college nostalgia associated with certain tracks for me...
I am now *this* close to finishing up the NY forms, but the application displaying the form instructions on my laptop keeps unexpectedly quitting (ack!). I am tired, and I gotta work tomorrow, so New York's gonna wait for now. I'll finish tomorrow. Hell, it's not even April yet, so I'm way ahead of my past years' schedule.
So I finished up the federal forms a little while ago. To set a productive scene for myself, I popped the LL Cool J All World CD into my laptop (classics!), and took out my contacts (somehow, being bent over tax forms in the middle of the night looks better to me with glasses resting on the bridge of my nose).
I held my breath as I reached the end of my 1040...I was at the line that reads TOTAL TAX, and I was looking for Box 2 ("Federal income tax withheld") on my solitary 2007 W-2...please, I thought, please let that amount in Box 2 be larger than my TOTAL TAX owed for 2007...
A smile crept upon my face:
I was completely thrilled to find out that, despite a couple worrisome components of my income, I am still due to receive a little refund from the Feds this year. Thank the lordy...I'm getting that form in ASAP now...it always takes Uncle Sam so much more time to issue checks than to cash them, in my experience...
Emboldened, I decided to try to wipe out my New York State tax forms tonight as well. What could possibly follow Cool James in my CD rotation? I chose Fugees The Score CD...it doesn't really compare, but it does have nice college nostalgia associated with certain tracks for me...
I am now *this* close to finishing up the NY forms, but the application displaying the form instructions on my laptop keeps unexpectedly quitting (ack!). I am tired, and I gotta work tomorrow, so New York's gonna wait for now. I'll finish tomorrow. Hell, it's not even April yet, so I'm way ahead of my past years' schedule.
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
I messed up...
...I really, really did. *Somehow* I got it into my head that to be able to vote in an election in New York State, one had to register (or update one's registration) at least 25 days (only 25 days!) before the election. Why oh why did I think that the New York bureaucracy could adjust its records in such a short amount of time?
I've been a registered voter since 1996, when I used my vote in Maryland to help elect Bill Clinton into his second term. At the time I was a registered Democrat. A few years later, after I had been a New York resident for a couple years and had grown skeptical of all established political parties, I switched my party affiliation to None. I was Independent and proud of it.
Proud, yes, but also stupid. New York is such an overwhelmingly Democratic-with-a-capital-D state and city that almost all elections are basically determined at the primary level, when the Democratic candidate is chosen. Since one must be affiliated with a party to vote in New York primary elections, I was essentially giving up a big part of my ability to determine our elected leaders.
For this reason, I've considered changing my party affiliation back to Democratic many times over the past several years, but it took this current Presidential election for me to finally say, "it's time." This Democratic race is intense!
I thought I'd take the opportunity to adjust my party affiliation at the same time I registered my new address change (I moved this past Fall). So...I just recently got my updated registration into the Board of Elections this week, thinking I had made it in time...only to learn that October 12, 2007 was the deadline for changing party affiliation for our February 5, 2008 primary election. HOW did I miss this piece of information???
Why oh why can I not live in South Dakota or even West Virginia, where primary elections are being held on June 3, 2008 and May 13, 2008, respectively? Then I might still have time to make the necessary changes...but then I'd also live in South Dakota or West Virginia, so...
I am just supremely disappointed in myself right now. I'm also jealous of the Iowa caucusers, who are able to register and/or change party affiliation right up to the day of the caucus. Argh.
At least I can still vote in the general election this November.
I've been a registered voter since 1996, when I used my vote in Maryland to help elect Bill Clinton into his second term. At the time I was a registered Democrat. A few years later, after I had been a New York resident for a couple years and had grown skeptical of all established political parties, I switched my party affiliation to None. I was Independent and proud of it.
Proud, yes, but also stupid. New York is such an overwhelmingly Democratic-with-a-capital-D state and city that almost all elections are basically determined at the primary level, when the Democratic candidate is chosen. Since one must be affiliated with a party to vote in New York primary elections, I was essentially giving up a big part of my ability to determine our elected leaders.
For this reason, I've considered changing my party affiliation back to Democratic many times over the past several years, but it took this current Presidential election for me to finally say, "it's time." This Democratic race is intense!
I thought I'd take the opportunity to adjust my party affiliation at the same time I registered my new address change (I moved this past Fall). So...I just recently got my updated registration into the Board of Elections this week, thinking I had made it in time...only to learn that October 12, 2007 was the deadline for changing party affiliation for our February 5, 2008 primary election. HOW did I miss this piece of information???
Why oh why can I not live in South Dakota or even West Virginia, where primary elections are being held on June 3, 2008 and May 13, 2008, respectively? Then I might still have time to make the necessary changes...but then I'd also live in South Dakota or West Virginia, so...
I am just supremely disappointed in myself right now. I'm also jealous of the Iowa caucusers, who are able to register and/or change party affiliation right up to the day of the caucus. Argh.
At least I can still vote in the general election this November.
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Two years after Katrina...
I've been considering many topics over the last week or so with which I could initiate this new online component of my life. I've mulled over the changing roles of religion in Western society, the genre of memoir, and various influences in the development of contemporary music. I am sure I will make my way to all these topics and more in due time, but I've decided that right now a discussion of the state of affairs two years after Hurricane Katrina is most pressing.
Two years ago today, in the early morning hours of August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina struck the southern edge of our country, devastating many lives in Louisiana and Mississippi in particular, though the damage spread into other states as well. Over 1,800 people were killed. The city of New Orleans was especially hard hit - to date, only 10% of the population of the Lower Ninth Ward neighborhood of New Orleans has been able to return home.
None of the above is news to most anyone with a pulse over the age of five. I am not writing now to describe the effect that Katrina had two years ago. I am writing now because I believe it is a disgrace that Katrina has fallen out of the public consciousness as much as it has. I guess most attacks against our current federal government are focusing on the invasion of Iraq and the various instances of questionable ethics in the Bush administration (and the ensuing mass exodus of the rats from the sinking ship that is the G.W.Bush legacy)...these are, in my opinion, warranted and timely topics...but let's not forget about the role (or should I say, lack of a role) our elected officials have played in the recovery of a great American city.
I was heartened today to come across some two-year anniversary coverage of Katrina, though I worry that much of the country will forget all about it again until the third year anniversary next year (soon before a highly anticipated Presidential election). Both Brian Lehrer and Leonard Lopate discussed it today on WNYC. As Brian Lehrer said, "it's really a damn shame" that there hasn't been more political fallout due to the exposed ineffectiveness of government in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Oprah Winfrey had a special new show today, a week and a half before the start of her Fall season, called "Katrina Two Years Later: An Oprah Special Report," which included CNN's Anderson Cooper among other guests. Oprah applauded Anderson Cooper for keeping the Katrina story alive on CNN, and I applaud Oprah for bringing the story to network television (especially since I do not have cable myself). Anderson was blunt in his assessment of the government on local, state, and federal levels; as he said, "it takes leadership (to improve the situation of those hit by Katrina), and that is what has been lacking." Anderson also said that "it was left up to individuals to figure out a system on their own."
My sincere appreciation goes out to anyone who has volunteered time and/or resources towards rebuilding New Orleans and surrounding areas. I believe many aspects of recovery would not be possible without individual citizens taking the initiative to pitch in. My anger today is a result of the obvious lack of government planning in cases of national disaster, and the lack of responsibility and initiative demonstrated by our elected leaders.
Facts:
-4500 doctors were displaced in the storm, and only 50% have returned
-25% of New Orleans residents currently get their basic medical care in emergency rooms (six New Orleans hospitals remain closed, including Charity Hospital, designed to serve the uninsured)
-the death rate in New Orleans is nearly 50% higher than before the storm
-people are still living in what were supposed to be temporary FEMA trailers, some of which contain over 20 times higher than acceptable levels of formaldehyde in the building material
-some studies suggest that 2/3 of New Orleans children are struggling with depression and/or chronic fear
-there were 196 psychiatrists in New Orleans before the storm, and now there are 22...not a good statistic in a city where suicidal thoughts have increased in a fair proportion of the population
-violent crime is on the rise: as of today, 27 people have been murdered in New Orleans in this month, August 2007, alone
Two years ago today, in the early morning hours of August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina struck the southern edge of our country, devastating many lives in Louisiana and Mississippi in particular, though the damage spread into other states as well. Over 1,800 people were killed. The city of New Orleans was especially hard hit - to date, only 10% of the population of the Lower Ninth Ward neighborhood of New Orleans has been able to return home.
None of the above is news to most anyone with a pulse over the age of five. I am not writing now to describe the effect that Katrina had two years ago. I am writing now because I believe it is a disgrace that Katrina has fallen out of the public consciousness as much as it has. I guess most attacks against our current federal government are focusing on the invasion of Iraq and the various instances of questionable ethics in the Bush administration (and the ensuing mass exodus of the rats from the sinking ship that is the G.W.Bush legacy)...these are, in my opinion, warranted and timely topics...but let's not forget about the role (or should I say, lack of a role) our elected officials have played in the recovery of a great American city.
I was heartened today to come across some two-year anniversary coverage of Katrina, though I worry that much of the country will forget all about it again until the third year anniversary next year (soon before a highly anticipated Presidential election). Both Brian Lehrer and Leonard Lopate discussed it today on WNYC. As Brian Lehrer said, "it's really a damn shame" that there hasn't been more political fallout due to the exposed ineffectiveness of government in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Oprah Winfrey had a special new show today, a week and a half before the start of her Fall season, called "Katrina Two Years Later: An Oprah Special Report," which included CNN's Anderson Cooper among other guests. Oprah applauded Anderson Cooper for keeping the Katrina story alive on CNN, and I applaud Oprah for bringing the story to network television (especially since I do not have cable myself). Anderson was blunt in his assessment of the government on local, state, and federal levels; as he said, "it takes leadership (to improve the situation of those hit by Katrina), and that is what has been lacking." Anderson also said that "it was left up to individuals to figure out a system on their own."
My sincere appreciation goes out to anyone who has volunteered time and/or resources towards rebuilding New Orleans and surrounding areas. I believe many aspects of recovery would not be possible without individual citizens taking the initiative to pitch in. My anger today is a result of the obvious lack of government planning in cases of national disaster, and the lack of responsibility and initiative demonstrated by our elected leaders.
Facts:
-4500 doctors were displaced in the storm, and only 50% have returned
-25% of New Orleans residents currently get their basic medical care in emergency rooms (six New Orleans hospitals remain closed, including Charity Hospital, designed to serve the uninsured)
-the death rate in New Orleans is nearly 50% higher than before the storm
-people are still living in what were supposed to be temporary FEMA trailers, some of which contain over 20 times higher than acceptable levels of formaldehyde in the building material
-some studies suggest that 2/3 of New Orleans children are struggling with depression and/or chronic fear
-there were 196 psychiatrists in New Orleans before the storm, and now there are 22...not a good statistic in a city where suicidal thoughts have increased in a fair proportion of the population
-violent crime is on the rise: as of today, 27 people have been murdered in New Orleans in this month, August 2007, alone
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