Tax Cuts for Oligarchs

David Posnett — Fri, 29 Sep 2017 20:50:20 +0000

Letter to the East Hampton Star published Sep. 28, 2017

There is so much in the news today about oligarchs. Do most readers know who or what they are?

“Siri,” I asked into my iPhone, “what is the definition of oligarch?” Up popped the following screen:

1. a ruler in an oligarchy, and

2. (especially in Russia) a very rich businessman with a great deal of political influence.

Here in the U.S.A. we have our own oligarchs, such as the infamous Texas Koch brothers. And our oligarchs are not just businessmen, as the definition says, but women as well. Take Rebecca Mercer, who, with her extended Mercer family, contributes heavily to politicians, including our own congressman, Lee Zeldin.

How does it work here? To stay in their jobs, politicians have to spend an inordinate amount of time raising money — that’s our system. And what do these oligarchs get out of this; how do they rule? Well, for one, they get huge tax breaks.

I had to laugh when I got an email from Mr. Zeldin the other day, asking if I was in favor of tax reform. Who isn’t, but what kind? Giving tax breaks to the Mercers and their kind is not what I consider reform.

Has Mr. Zeldin been hoodwinked, or are we being hoodwinked? We need to pay taxes; the government can’t run on wind. And the rich should pay their fair share — period. The goodies that are supposed to trickle down from rich people’s tax savings are such a small trickle, if at all, that “trickle down” is a joke, a joke played on us.

I say no tax cuts for the rich, Mr. Zeldin; they are doing just fine. If you don’t believe me, ask Siri.

PEGGY BACKMAN

Comment1 (D Posnett):

During the presidential campaign last year, we learned about Hillary Clinton’s income. Her $10,594,529 adjusted gross income (AGI) puts her in the top 1% of earners. Altogether, the top-earning 1% of taxpayers reported 20.6% of all AGI and paid 39.5% of total income taxes. Since President Trump never released his tax returns we dont know where he fits in. You can find out where you stack up on this site:

http://www.kiplinger.com/article/taxes/T056-C000-S001-where-you-rank-as-a-taxpayer.html

Comment2 (D Posnett):

Looking at overall wealth inequality is even more striking:

top 0.1% worth as much as the bottom 90%.

Not since the Great Depression has wealth inequality in the US been so acute. And the trend is growing! Unbelievable.

Fake News

David Posnett — Mon, 20 Mar 2017 03:17:36 +0000

The issue of “fake news” has been bothering me: East Hampton Star under Guest Words.

Along with the disdain of the current administration for science or any real data for that matter, just consider the infantile debate on the attendance numbers at the Trump inauguration versus the D.C. Women’s March the following day. Consider the Republican’s pursuit of a health care policy that is predicted to fail and to harm the uninsured, the elderly and even our hospitals, their resistance to funding of research meant to save us from an epidemic such at the Zika virus and their unwillingness to believe in man-made climate change or to do something about it. All this is frightening. The attack on climate change includes people like Robert Mercer, the hedge fund billionaire behind the Trump/Bannon campaign. Across the country, there are even legal cases attacking science and anti-science education legislation.

Fake news fits right into this mix. But the origins are probably more complex. There has been a worldwide shift in how people inform themselves. Books, journals, newspapers are out. The internet, social media, opinion bloggers, and TV cable news are in. There are those that wish to make a quick buck by inventing fake news stories peddled on websites and promoted by Breitbart, and they are getting handsomely paid, per click, on their stories!

So where does this leave us? Asking Facebook and Twitter to edit their sites does not strike me as a feasible solution. That leaves us only with education. As stated in the East Hampton Star: “We need to educate our children, at home and in our schools, how to vet information, how to use fact-check sites such as snopes.com, how to look for confirmatory reports, and how to have a high degree of skepticism. Critical thinking should be part of every curriculum. If you are on a school board make a suggestion. We need courses on internet literacy, vetting sources, and the like. And, young minds should be warned about looking for news that confirms your own bias. They should be encouraged to have an open mind and engage in open-minded discussions with classmates”

mercer – R&R – Reachout and Rebuild

Tax Cuts for Oligarchs

Fake News