“The implicit assumption in discussions of these issues is that a given economic and political system should be preferred because it improves human wellbeing. ”

The improvement of human wellbeing is rarely mentioned in the diatribes against (or for that matter in favor of) government. The inclusion of this concept in all discussions of how the world ought to be run could focus the mind almost as well as imminent hanging–but w/o the heart-pounding terror. And besides, it would give us a scale on which to determine the success of our efforts in the here and now. (I think it’s reasonable to leave the effect of public policies on access to a given afterlife to individual preferences and beliefs.)

I want to be part of that most fertile of experiences, the group that lays down its slogans and gets to work fixing problems. I have experienced it and it approaches having children for its ecstasy and its agony. Perhaps what is needed is a designated midwife–someone who recognizes the pain of the process, supports the labor, suggests strategies to mitigate the difficulty and helps the group stay focused on what we are bringing to birth. Such a midwife would be there to assist the process. The midwife would not create the outcome any more than a traditional midwife would raise the baby.

I’ve often found myself so caught up in making a point or in the beauty of my own speech that I was oblivious to the way I was effecting others. A sensitive midwife to refocus me/us on what we are here for would have saved me hours of post-meeting remorse AND we would have gotten a LOT MORE accomplished.

As to the voluntary tax idea – the invitation that we can all make voluntary taxes if we want. Well in trying it out with industry it doesn’t work. When the bottom line is how much profit you can make, there is no volunteering. It is clear that we have a profit loving populace and so I say we need to legislate some ethical morality. Too bad that we can’t grow up. Volunteerism doesn’t work – so we need to ask people to commit to their country and step up to the plate. Wasteful is a matter of opinion of course – and there isn’t any such thing as waste. Waste is just something else’s food. The question isn’t big government – it is efficient government… let’s focus on that instead of the band standing and greed feelings.

BTW, I wonder if I could get a tank of gasoline with a voluntary contribution of my own choice.

BTW, one tax I would be in favor of increasing is the estate tax. I see no reason why the children of great wealth should be entitled to a life of ease and leisure. A reasonable exemption and heavy taxation above that amount along with the closing of loopholes like generation-skipping trusts would be fair.

I was a public transit bus driver for 16 years. Public transit makes it possible for folks in low wage jobs to get to work, for school kids with 2 working parents to get to and from school and after school activities safely. Public transit takes poor folks and old folks and people with disabilities to doctor’s offices, hospitals, recreation and shopping. It also provides good wages and benefits to its employees–at least when those employees are represented by a union.

So poor folks and families with kids and old folks and people with disabilities and public transit employees–which is to say a sizable portion of our society–have a vested interest in maintaining the taxes that make good public transportation possible. Yet too many of these folks have been conned into believing that taxes are some kind of plot against their prosperity.

And people who use schools and health care and roadways and drinking water and electricity and air and almost any kind of food, et cetera–which is to say, all of us–have the same vested interest an appropriate, adequate and, above all, fair tax policy. Yet all too many of us are falling for this old con job. (Rupert Murdoch, a man with only a few billion dollars between himself and poverty, must be so proud.)

I say it’s time for all of us to stop shooting ourselves in the foot and start shooting holes in ridiculous ideas. Tax day is Independence Day to me. The taxes I pay are my dues for living in a just society. The taxes I pay are the privilege I have because I have access to enough money to owe them.

The point is to notice how much more complex and human a real person is than the initial thoughts we have about them. This is one version of being in the moment–just noticing everything about a person without judgment.

Perhaps the hyper-vigilance occasioned by PTSD propelled me to dealing with things this way. And I can see, as this discussion continues, that what one person calls “holding lightly” may, strangely, resemble what another person calls “taking seriously.” Vive la difference de la meme chose!”

Hekate