democrats aren't the good guys either

[tyrannosaurus vex]

Teabaggers are idiots. They say stupid shit, they believe stupid shit, they are xenophobic and backward and ignorant and all that.

BUT

Maybe they have a point about some things?

A - the government is hopelessly bloated and wasteful.
B - the tax code is fucked.
C - nobody in DC knows or cares to know anything about real people.
D - black people shouldn't be president. (lol jk).

These points are something that I actually agree with. I think the Tea Party's approach to solving them is terrible, and I'd never join up with them because it would feel like joining the Klan, but while their solutions are bad, the problems they're trying to solve are real.

Of course in our dualistic political culture in the US, the antidote to "Mutant Republican" is either "Thoughtful Democrat" or "Mutant Democrat." That's too bad, because Democrats are idiots too. The "There's a SOCIAL PROGRAM for that!" solution is almost as terrible, in the long run, as the "AW JUST LET THE MARKET HANDLE IT" solution.

- When people are provided for, they tend to forget how to provide for themselves. (How many of us know how to properly slaughter, quarter, and dress a game animal if we had to, or keep the meat from rotting long enough to eat it, without modern conveniences?)

- If people cannot provide for themselves, then they have no choice but loyalty to whoever is providing for them, and will maintain that loyalty at any cost so long as those provisions keep coming. And, of course, any thought of cutting off those provisions is immediately met with anger; anyone who suggests maybe people are a little too dependent on the system is disregarded as intellectually alien or perverse.

I'm not saying Progressivism is bad (or that the raging xenophobia of the Teabaggers is good), but maybe we should consider this stuff when we think about the fight between "liberal" and "conservative."

[Jenne]

Ariana Huffington was on the PBS Newshour yesterday evening saying almost the exact same thing.

[tyrannosaurus vex]

I missed it. But I hate her accent, anyway.

[Jenne]

Something was WAY wonky with one of her eyes last night.  She had a Picasso fugly day.

[Doktor Howl]

How is the tax code fucked?

[Cain]

Of course the Teabaggers have a point.

It's just hard to take them seriously when they whine as much as they do, usually about shit they know nothing about.

My favoured political future is the one where the last Teabagger strangles the last Democrat with his own entrails, then expires.

[Jasper]

How is the tax code fucked?

It could be better.  The higher brackets of income are undertaxed, imo.

[Requia ☣]

How is the tax code fucked?

Because companies can pull ridiculous things off to avoid paying taxes.

Avoiding taxes is nothing new for General Electric. In 2008 its effective tax rate was 5.3%

http://www.forbes.com/2010/04/01/ge-exxon-walmart-business-washington-corporate-taxes.html

[Cain]

Even I paid more tax on my earnings in 2008, and I earnt like £400 for the whole year.

[tyrannosaurus vex]

How is the tax code fucked?

Because there are too many loopholes for the obscenely wealthy, and it's too hard for the less fortunate to find ways to save on their taxes. Brackets should be more simply defined, and rates should be solidified so there is absolutely no dodging and no room for accounting tricks.

[Jasper]

I doubt there will ever be a tax code without loopholes.  In place of that, a tax code that rewards honesty and a good taxpaying record would promote better business practices.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

There are no good guys.

Even WE aren't the good guys.

[Doktor Howl]

Because companies can pull ridiculous things off to avoid paying taxes.

So can I.   

[BabylonHoruv]

Because companies can pull ridiculous things off to avoid paying taxes.

So can I.   

Yeah, but the chances of you going to jail for it are much higher.